


moonflower.

by honeyglazed



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Attempted Sexual Assault, Bottom Kim Jongin | Kai, Bounty Hunters, But In Space, Eventual Smut, Kidnapping, Kim Jongin | Kai is a Little Shit, M/M, Mentions of Pedophilia, Outer Space, Past Sexual Assault, Protective Park Chanyeol, Racism Against Fictional Races, Strangers to Lovers, Sweet Park Chanyeol, Violence, absolutely none of this is between chankai, it just pertains to the villain’s motivations, kinda enemies to lovers, or graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:35:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 42,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26955214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeyglazed/pseuds/honeyglazed
Summary: Infamous Herbalist Lay’s—real name unknown—niece has been taken by the galaxy’s most illegal exotic creature seller. It’s up to bounty hunter Jongin and his android Baekhyun to bring her home safely.An Earthen that goes by the name Loey with ears that stick out through his hair helps along the way.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 15
Kudos: 88
Collections: Honey Boy: Round 1





	moonflower.

**Author's Note:**

> huge thank you to the mods of this fest and the prompter. i hope i did ur prompt justice and you enjoyed this story :)

**Prompt #007: Moon elf Jongin is sent on a bounty hunt expedition to the neighboring planet. His goal is to take down the galaxy’s most notorious illegal exotic creature seller. But when he finds himself lost in the red light district of the planet, he’s surprised with the kind of help he receives.**

**disclaimer: before we begin, i just want to make it clear that while i tried to write the personalities of chanyeol, jongin, baekhyun, kyungsoo, and yixing, as accurate to what we know of them, this is still a work of fiction. this au is as far from real life as it can possibly be. it also deals with serious topics, and many decisions made throughout might be questionable. i do not think these decisions—especially those of jongin and chanyeol’s past—reflect the boys’ true character.**

**i love all the exos very much. they’re all incredibly kind and caring men despite anything portrayed here.**

**that being said, please enjoy, and if you think any of the tags above might be troubling, there are many other wonderful fics from this fest to choose from :)**

_ “Incoming call. _

_ Sender: Anonymous. _

_ Do you accept? _

_ Do you accept? _

_ Do you accept?” _

Kim Jongin liked very few things. He liked his sleep, money, breakfast foods, and his leather jacket in that specific order. When something got in the way of either of those four things, he was in a bad mood until it was somehow appeased by one of the other three. This time, it was his sleep being interfered with by RITA, the Robotic Intergalactic Travel Assistant downloaded into his ship and her horribly robotic voice.

_ “Do you accept?”  _ she asked again. 

Jongin flipped onto his stomach and shoved his face into his pillows, screaming as he kicked his legs on his bed. The last couple of days had been tough, and it didn’t seem like a few hours of uninterrupted sleep was too much to ask for. “Byun fucking Baekhyun, you’re on phone duty!” he bellowed. “Accept the damn message!” 

_ “Do you accept?”  _ RITA’s voice sounded once more, but before Jongin could complain about it, bare feet scampered past his open door. Jongin sighed in relief and allowed his body to fall back down into his bed, tension slowly leaving.

_ “Hi, Kai.”  _ A familiar male voice replaced that of RITA’s over the speakers, barely audible through the violent static. It was yet another reminder that Jongin put off fixing his sound system for too long now.  _ “Catch you at a bad time?” _

“I don’t care,” he murmured, his arm strewn over his eyes. “What do you want, Lay?”

_ “I need another favor from you. I’ll pay more than double what I did last time.” _

Jongin chewed on his bottom lip, remembering the return to his ship after his last mission with Lay. He wanted some fabled flower from Mercury that was supposed to have healing properties. What he forgot to mention and what Jongin only realized when he touched down on the planet’s dry surface was that the flower was not only sacred to Mercuarians, there was only one left of its kind. It took him three weeks to garner the trust of the Temple that housed it and another two to pluck four petals off. If Lay had not paid him in advance, he would’ve given up and tried his luck with an easier job.

Somehow, he got it done and got it done successfully. Lay had the flower in his possession and was working on bottling the power of it for retail purposes in the comfort of his office in Saturn. Jongin was more exhausted than he had ever been in his entire life, but at least he was half a million coins richer.

“I assume that means something worse than being sacrificed to the Gods will happen to me if I fail, right?”

_ “I thought you lived for the thrill, moonflower.” _

Jongin ground his teeth. “I thought I told you not to call me that.” Silence. “Whatever. What do you want?”

_ “As you know, lines of work like mine and yours come with many enemies. Unfortunately, mine has finally caught up to me. A man named Julian and I have butted heads for some time now as we sell to similar clientele. I bottle the elements, he kidnaps children and sells them to the highest bidder.” _

“Cut to the chase, Lay.” Jongin just wanted to be sleeping.

_ “Well… alright. He took my niece and my sister is hysteric. Apparently, I have to get her back or I’m out of the family. Stupid stuff, I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”  _ Jongin scowled.  _ “Anyway, I’m rather busy with the Mercurian flower at the moment, and I would absolutely  _ adore  _ if you could get my niece back, kill Julian, destroy his businesses, yada yada yada. My sister makes _ the _ most divine Venusian Rose cake for family reunions, and I would hate to leave that behind.” _

Lay talked  _ so much,  _ Jongin didn’t understand it sometimes. How did his jaw never grow tired? How did he have so many words available for such pointless things? He was a kind man, if not a little bit eccentric, but Jongin was even more weary than he had been before Lay started talking. “How much will you pay me?”

_ “I was thinking about two million coins. If you want more--” _

“That’s fine,” Jongin said tersely. “And… and two slices of your sister’s cake the next time we see each other.”

Lay was silent for a moment, but then he laughed. The sound was seemingly too much for Jongin’s simple speakers, and he flinched at the terrible noise it made.  _ “It’s a deal, kid. Try and have it done in two months.” _

“Bye, Lay.”

_ “Goodbye, moonflower. Good luck.” _

Lay hung up first. Jongin wished he could say it was silent after that, but the grumble of his old ship’s old engine replaced Lay’s voice. Groaning, he stuffed his face back into his pillows, hoping to drown everything else out. He was almost there, he almost reached complete mental peace when he sensed a figure looming over his bed. “What do you want, Baekhyun?”

“I was wondering when you wanted to start Lay’s mission.”

Jongin exhaled slowly, hating how good of a question that was. Figuring that trying to sleep at that moment was pointless, he pushed himself into a sitting position. Baekhyun stared back at him, grey eyes empty. “Can you find out some more information about Julian for me? He sounds familiar, but I can’t remember where I last heard his name.”

The android nodded, eyes turning green as his consciousness retracted back into his head. Though he didn’t move, Jongin was always fascinated watching him work. Having a computer as a brain sounded like so much fun sometimes. There were surgeries available for such things, but the rehabilitation time was almost a year, and being confined to a bed for that long sounded like utter hell to Jongin. 

Baekhyun eventually started to blink rapidly, his eyes returning to their naturally programmed color. “So… what’d you find?”

“He’s a bad man, Jongin.”

“I think we’ve established that already.”

“No, I mean… he’s  _ bad  _ bad. Like… collector and abuser and seller of ‘exotic species’ bad. I know Lay promised a lot of money, but maybe it’s a better idea for you to sit this one out. Three or so simple jobs can get us the same amount of coins.”

Jongin understood Baekhyun’s concern and was cursing himself for not learning more about Julian before accepting to go up against him. He was, to say it simply, an ‘exotic species’ himself. A Moon Elf. Characterized by alabaster hair and pointed ears blue at the tips, he figured one of his kind would be a pretty addition to the collection of a man like Julian. 

Then again, he’d escaped from the trunks of many alien traffickers’ ships and could only imagine how many of them were working for Julian. 

“The galaxy would be a safer place with him out of it.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “But  _ you  _ don’t have to be the one to take him out. I’m sure Lay has plenty of others to help him. He only called you because he knows you’re young and easy to manipulate.”

Jongin crossed his arms over his chest. “Rude.”

“You know what I mean, Jongin.”

“I think… I think I want to do it. You don’t have to help me.”

Knowing that his words were falling on deaf ears, Baekhyun opted to staring him down. He knew how unsettling his grey, mechanical eyes were to Jongin and most people, but the boy was finally starting to build an immunity to them after their six years together. He ended up losing this one, but he told himself that was because he wasn’t trying his hardest. Considering his past with men like Julian, he thought that maybe Jongin had a right to at least try his luck. “Of course, I’m going to help you,” Baekhyun grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But only because that Venusian Rose cake sounds really good.”

“Oh my  _ Gods,  _ doesn’t it?”

The two friends conversed about their assumptions surrounding the cake as Baekhyun told RITA to set a path to Pluto, the red light district of the galaxy. From his research, he learned that Julian set shop up there. The worst of the worst people gathered on the dwarf planet and law enforcement was an oddity. They’d been there once or twice for jobs, but neither of the trips ended nicely. Baekhyun wasn’t expecting anything different this time. He figured this was going to end with Jongin under Julian’s care and him disassembled to be sold part by part, but even that seemed more desirable than engaging Jongin in an argument head on.

~

Three days after the initial call with Lay, Jongin touched down on Pluto. He could regretfully say that he hadn’t gotten as much sleep as he wanted during those long hours, but they’d been planning the whole time. Julian’s whereabouts apart from the fact that he was on Pluto was unknown, but he owned three brothels and two casinos. Each establishment sold people alongside drinks and appetizers. The priority was to find Lay’s niece, a 15-year-old girl they learned to be named Jiang Ying Yue. In the midst of that, they hoped to learn what they needed to know about Julian.

It was a bad plan. A really bad plan, but so were all the rest of Jongin’s plans. He worked better on his feet, anyway, and he wasn’t dead yet. 

“Where are we going first?”

Baekhyun hummed as they descended the ramp of their ship. “We’re closest to Peresephone. It was his first business and still the most popular.”

“Sounds good,” Jongin said, pulling his leather jacket tighter around his body. He’d forgotten how cold Pluto got and dressed accordingly. Loose black ripped jeans and a cropped white short sleeve beneath his jacket. “You saw me getting ready. A reminder would’ve been nice.” As he spoke to Baekhyun, he could see his breath.

“You’re accountable for yourself.”

As he wasn’t human, Baekhyun didn’t feel heat or cold unless it was extreme enough to mess with his programming. He said he felt emotions, but Jongin questioned that sometimes. 

“Hecate, you suck.”

“Let’s pick up the pace,” Baekhyun said, ignoring him. “These streets are so empty, it’s giving me the creeps.”

Jongin nodded, jogging alongside Baekhyun as he continued to hug his upper body tightly. He couldn’t believe how easily he forgot how much he hated Pluto. There was never not something off about the air. It was like there was a threat constantly breathing down his neck, one he wouldn’t be able to confront until it was too late. Even the gun tucked into his waistband and the knife sheathed around his thigh didn’t bring him the comfort they normally did.

Lay said he had roughly two months to complete the mission, but he knew that if he truly had to spend two continuous months on Pluto, he would go insane.

Baekhyun reached the doors of Peresephone first, holding the pink tinted glass open for him. “Thank you,” he said breathlessly, stepping in. It was sweltering inside, but for the time being, he welcomed it. The air carried the unmistakable smell of alcohol and smoke alongside perfume. No matter how many clubs or brothels or casinos he stepped in across the planets and moons, he was comforted by how they tended to all share a similar smell.

At the end of the tight hallway they were catching their breath in, a man with red skin stood in front of the real entrance to the main attraction. Though his eyes were behind dark sunglasses, Jongin knew they were on them, watching and waiting. 

“Lunar?” He had a voice to match his appearance. Deep and scary.

“Moon Elf.” It was a petty distinction, but Jongin liked to make it anyway. Outside Luna, the line between Lunar and Moon Elf blurred, but the two couldn’t be more different to each other. Lunars came from Earth hundreds of years ago and evolved to survive, but Moon Elves had always been there. Centuries of colonization and civil wars made it a sensitive issue to Jongin and a good majority of his people.

“Your friend?”

“Android.”

The bouncer’s face remained impassive. When a group of people entered and lined up behind them, chattering drunkenly, Jongin expected the door to be opened for sake of ease, but the man didn’t move. “What are you here for?”

“What does anyone come to a place like this for?”

Seemingly satisfied, the bouncer opened the door for them and closed it before the group behind them could enter. The music that had been muffled in the hallway was blaring inside. Jongin surveyed the main room. Booths and a bar lined the walls while the center was scattered with poles atop platforms where scantily dressed aliens danced as patrons threw solid coins at them. Jongin made a beeline to the bar, Baekhyun following close behind.

People sitting at the tables were either gambling, watching the dancers from a safe distance, or following the both of them with their eyes as they walked by. He expected the place to be rowdier, fights breaking out left and right, but it was as tame as brothels came. 

“Any of them look like Ying Yue?”

Baekhyun had downloaded the picture they received into his memory so he’d recognize the structure no matter what changes Julian and his men might’ve made. He looked from dancer to dancer to waitress to waitress. “I don’t see her.”

“Maybe she’s upstairs.” Jongin struggled to say it, sick to his stomach at the thought of a sweet, 13-year-old girl being put on sale like that, but he was afraid that it was a viable option. 

“Gods, I don’t even want to think about that.”

“Neither do I. The faster we do this, though, the faster we can save her.” Jongin spun around on the cracked leather stool and waved down a bartender.

“What can I get ya?” The Plutarian asked, polishing a glass with one pair of hands as he prepared a mixed drink with the other. Jongin resisted the urge to gag. Despite all he’d seen in his lifetime, any more limbs than four churned his stomach. 

“I was actually hoping you could answer some questions, if you have the time.”

“Ask away.”

Jongin tried his absolute hardest to keep eye contact, but the arms were really tripping him up. “What do you know about the people upstairs?”

“Ya lookin’ for someone specific?”

“Kinda. A Saturian. Any Saturian would do really.”

“I’m afraid yer outta luck then, sir. We ain’t got none of them here.”

Jongin cursed. So this had been a waste of time. “Ah, well, that’s disappointing. Thanks anyway, though.”

“No problem. Call me if ya got anything else to ask.” He winked before walking away, and Jongin really wanted to hurl.

“Wait!” Baekhyun called out before the bartender was out of earshot. “So sorry to keep troubling you, but I’ve got one more question.” He continued to speak before receiving any sort of response. “My friend and I here do some bounty, mercenary type work, but we’re looking for an upgrade, if you know what I mean. I heard Julian runs this club. You know anything about getting a job with him?”

Jongin inhaled sharply. It was a ballsy question. Though it didn’t reveal their true plan, asking for the big boss right away was risky. Baekhyun liked risk. Jongin hadn’t made his mind up about it yet.

“Ah, sorry, you two. I just make drinks.”

“Is there anyone here we could talk to?”

The bartender pursed his ashy lips, thinking. “Right off the top of my head? There’s a man named Loey that I think could help ya. He don’t work for Julian directly, but he’s done business with him once or twice. He comes in here often, but haven’t seen him for the past few days. I could mention y’all to him if you’d like? I just need yer names.”

Baekhyun shook his head quickly. “That’s not necessary, you’ve helped enough as it is. Thank you so much.”

The bartender walked away and the two swivelled around, bringing their heads close. “So?” Baekhyun asked. “What d’you think? Should we find Loey?”

“What would we do?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “I could pretend that I wanna sell you, but I wanna do it to Julian in person. I’m sure they’d like a Moon Elf. Loey gets us an audience, we kill him. Simple.”

“I don’t play bait, Baek,” Jongin said, shaking his head. He felt as if he’d had this conversation before because… well… he had. “Plus, no one’s gonna believe an android working on their own.”

“It was worth a try. What’s your bright idea?”

“I think we should focus on finding Ying Yue before she’s hurt. She’s just a Saturian, so obviously she was taken to make Lay angry. That  _ must  _ mean Julian directly had something to do with her abduction.”

“You’re the boss.”

Jongin chuckled. “It’s probably suspicious if we leave so soon, right?”

“Doing anything normal is what’s suspicious on Pluto. Let’s just go.” Baekhyun hopped off the stool, heavy boots hitting wooden floors sticky with mysterious liquids. He led the way out, holding Jongin’s hands as they weaved through the crowd. They got a few wolf whistles and calls to stay longer, but those were easily ignored. They rushed out the door they entered through and barreled past the bouncer.

It hadn’t gotten any warmer outside and apart from a few exceptions, the dimly lit district was empty. “Where next?”

“Elysium,” Baekhyun answered. “It’s a block away.”

Jongin shuddered. “Great. Gives me plenty of time to freeze.”

“It’s not my fault you decided to dress like a whore.”

Baekhyun giggled when Jongin shoved him gently. It had been a long time since they were allowed to joke around with each other. Baekhyun stayed on the ship during the mission to Mercury. He said something about ‘not being allowed on holy ground’ that Jongin didn’t totally understand, but he didn’t question it. It was easier for the Temple to accept one newcomer than it would be for them to accept two. 

They laughed and talked as they walked to Elysium, fully aware that they must’ve looked drunk off their asses to passerbys despite not having a single drop of alcohol. Barely a minute’s walk away from their destination, Jongin looked to their shadows on the dusty ground in front of them and noticed a third head between theirs. He frowned.

“I think we’re being followed.”

“Obviously. I was waiting for you to notice.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jongin hissed. “Not everything has to be a test.”

“Should we confront him or wait for him to come to us?”

“I’ve been craving a little excitement.” Jongin moved his hand to his waistband. “On three. One.”

“Two,” said Baekhyun.

“Three!”

They spun around, their guns aimed, fingers hovering over triggers. A man stood at the end of their trajectories, his palms in the air. Jongin really hoped he had been following them, or this was about to get really embarrassing. He looked harmless enough. An Earthen most likely. He was handsome, but normal. His ears were big, but not pointed enough to be that of an elf’s. 

“Woah there.” He had a nice voice, deep and strong as winds that could rustle an ocean. Despite staring down to barrels of guns, he was smiling. “Sorry to startle you two, but I heard you were looking for me.”

On the way to their destinations, people walked around them, not even bothering to spare a second glance. Jongin and Baekhyun exchanged glances, strong holds on their weapons faltering a little as they scraped their minds for whatever he could mean.

Sensing their confusion, the man laughed. “I’m Loey. Friend at Persephone told me a Moon Elf and android were looking for me. I was flattered at first, but…” he looked at the guns. “I guess I was wrong.”

“You’re Loey?”

“In the flesh.”

“You’re an Earthen,” Jongin said, only realizing how stupid it was as soon as the last syllable tumbled from his lips. 

“Correct. Can you put the guns down now? My arms are getting tired.”

Looking at each other again, Baekhyun and Jongin saw agreement in each other’s eyes and lowered their guns slowly. Jongin tucked his back into his pants while Baekhyun opened a compartment on his forearm to store it in. Loey had never been truly threatened by them, so they didn’t see the point in humoring themselves. Though he kept his hands in surrender, he kept them low. A weapon stayed hidden inside the covers of his purple bomber jacket.

“So… what did you want me for?”

Jongin felt awkward having a conversation in the middle of the street. Everyone else was ignoring them, but he didn’t like it anyway. It wasn’t like he could invite Loey to Elysium with them anyway, assuming Ying Yue was there. “We’re in need of work.”

“And how am I supposed to help you with that?”

“We heard you dabble in business with Julian, and he’s just the kinda man we could work with.”

Loey tilted his head, fluffy black hair falling into his face. He wore a black eye patch over his right eye that blended perfectly into his hair. The left side of his face was overtaken with gauze. It was obvious that when he worked, he got his hands dirty. Considering his line of work, Jongin didn’t respect that very much.

“You’re lying.”

Jongin’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“You’re lying. You don’t wanna work with Julian.” Jongin didn’t like the happy edge to everything he said. It was unsettling. “I don’t know many Moon Elves, but I do know of one that works alongside an android. They do dirty work, and only kill when they’re paid enough.” He smiled widely, straight white teeth on display. “Tell me that isn’t you two.”

To be seen through so quickly, it was embarrassing. Despite the cold, Jongin’s face was red hot. “If I was you,” Loey started. “And I was entering the world you have as a species rare as yours, I would make sure my ears aren’t poking through my hair, at least.”

Subconsciously, Jongin’s hands went right up, fingers brushing against the blue-pointed tips of his ears that parted his hair slightly. He never thought about that as an exposing feature. His blush had to be reaching his chest at this point. “Your ears do the same,” he grumbled.

“Mine don’t look like yours, though.” 

“Just tell us why you’re here, Loey,” Baekhyun said, miffed.

Loey seemed overtaken by his brashness, but his annoyingly pretty smile never faltered. “I don’t know, when I heard a Moon Elf was looking for me, I assumed it was the one that worked with Dr. Lay once or twice,” he said everything like it was so obvious, but Jongin knew for a fact that it wasn’t. This man had to have eyes and ears everywhere. Jongin’s hand was on his gun again. “You’re looking for his niece.”

“So what if we are?” Baekhyun asked, starting to pry the compartment on his arm open again. “You gonna report us to Julian?”

“That bastard?” Loey waved his hand through the air. “Gods, no. I wouldn’t do him a favor if my life was on the line.”

Jongin was confused. “But you’ve done business with him.”

“Only to get him comfortable with me.”

When Jongin looked to Baekhyun, his eyes were green, and he wondered what he was doing. While he was incapacitated, it was Jongin’s job to speak. “Why are you telling us this?”

“You’re friends with Lay. An enemy of Julian. I figured we’re on the same team.”

Jongin scowled, hating how hard it was to read the man. “What do _ you _ have against Julian?”

“I don’t like men that treat other beings as objects, but besides that… he took a friend of mine many, many years ago.”

Baekhyun leaned closer to Jongin, lips against the shell of his ear. “I’ve been checking his vitals. He’s telling the truth.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to work with him, right?”

“He’s already got Julian’s trust. Apparently, we have a reputation and it’s a reputation that isn’t gonna help us around here without him.” Jongin hated how right Baekhyun tended to be. “Admit it, we have no idea what we’re doing.”

Jongin bit back the urge to whine. He didn’t  _ want  _ to work with Loey. Despite telling the truth and being a good person, he gave him major creeps. “Fine,” he whispered reluctantly. Baekhyun smiled knowingly.

“Alright.” Baekhyun faced Loey with his hand extended. “You help us find Dr. Lay’s niece, we’ll help you take Julian down. Deal?”

Loey shook Baekhyun’s hands, but his eyes were on Jongin. Flustered, Jongin diverted his attention. His gaze was somehow stronger than that of a normal man’s despite having only one visible eye. Loey and Baekhyun’s hands seperated. The deal was made. The three of them were officially partners, and Jongin couldn’t be less happy about it.

“Let’s make sure we understand each other before anything starts,” Jongin said. “Ying Yue is our priority. We find her before we even  _ think  _ about finding Julian. Do you have any idea on where she could be?”

Loey shook his head. “Afraid not. All I know is that Julian doesn’t put people in his clubs right away. He sees if he can sell them right away first. Especially since the girl was taken as some sort of revenge, she’s with him or near him.”

Jongin gulped. “Is he…”

“Thankfully no,” Loey answered, catching the unsaid meaning right away. It was good because Jongin didn’t want to say it outloud. “Julian only does business with disgusting perverts. He isn’t one. He likes trophies more than toys, if you know what I mean.”

“Thank Hecate.” Jongin ran a hand through his hair, slightly comforted that Ying Yue might be safe for some time. Lay would be pleased to know. “You’re the boss from here on out. What’s our next step?”

“We find him. I don’t know where he is, but I know where he will be. We’ll take my ship.”

“Vague bastard,” Jongin muttered under his breath. “And what are we supposed to do with our ship?” he asked, louder.

“Leave it behind. I saw your ship. Assuming I’m right, you’re not losing much.”

“Hey--” Loey wasn’t wrong, but that still didn’t give him any  _ right  _ to say that. Jongin worked hard to scrape money together and buy that ship when he was only fifteen years old. Five years later, he was still extremely proud of it. Before he could give Loey a piece of his mind, Baekhyun was digging his nails into his arm.

“Let it go,” he hissed. “He’s right.”

“But all our stuff is on there!”

“What? You wanna take time to pack your best outfits?” Even Loey’s jeers didn’t come off as malicious. “Any clothes or toiletries needed, we can get along the way. I thought the girl was our priority at the moment.” Jongin’s top lip peeled back with a deep growl. Loey looked back at him, smirking. Oh, how badly Jongin wanted to punch his perfect face and make him wrap the right side of his face in gauze identical to the other. 

“By the way, I don’t know either of your names.”

“My name’s Baek,” Baekhyun answered without hesitation. “And this is Kai.”

“Interesting. I guess you already know, but I go by Loey.”

“Is that your real name?” Jongin asked before he really knew why.

“Is Kai  _ yours? _ ”

Jongin’s fists tightened at his sides. Noticing, Baekhyun rolled his eyes, and wrapped his hands around them. “Stop trying to challenge him. I know you like being in charge, but we’re working together now, and he has what we need. Can you be mature for, like, a second?”

“I am mature,” Jongin mumbled.

“He said like a child.” Baekhyun patted his head condescendingly, and Jongin regretted buying him a personality chip. “It’s going to be okay. Soon we’ll be two million coins and two slices of Venusian Rose cake richer.”

Yet again, Baekhyun was right. Jongin followed them in mopey silence, his bottom lip jutted out and his arms crossed tightly over his chest. It was reaching those special hours in which even the clubs were closing. People with skin of all sorts of colors were streaming out in crowds. Jongin instantly picked his speed up to walk beside Baekhyun.

“Baby,” said the android.

“Shut up.”

There was a whole slew of ships that landed beside Jongin’s. They dwarfed his, made her dents and rust uglier than he remembered them to be. A wave of shame at her expense passed over him. No one driving such junk could ever garner any sort of respect. It was no wonder he’d been running glorified errands for so many years. That really sunk in when Loey stopped in front of a ship that Jongin had to crane his neck as far as it would go to not even be able to see the top.

“Holy fuck,” he nearly whimpered. 

“Oh that’s sexy,” said Baekhyun, nodding his head in approval. “This is the kinda ship I’ve been telling you to buy. Of course you never listened to me.”

“I don’t need this.”

“Whatever.” Baekhyun jutted his chin at Loey. “This yours?”

“Yup!”

“How much did she cost?”

“More than I’d like to admit,” Loey chuckled. He pulled a remote from his jacket and the ramp to enter came down from an impossible height. “Alright, all aboard!”

~

Loey had an andriod too, a better and newer model than Baekhyun. His name was Kyungsoo. He took care of the ship because Loey said he had been too expensive to take out. Jongin introduced himself, but he received nothing more than a blank stare. He wondered if Kyungsoo just didn’t like him or if he wasn’t given a personality chip. Loey offered no answer, and Baekhyun couldn’t tell.

If Kyungsoo wasn’t enough evidence that Loey was needlessly rich, the six bedrooms he had on his ship confirmed that for Jongin. He and Baekhyun were given separate, fully furnished rooms. The closets had three simple outfits each, one for sleeping, and two identical ones he assumed to be for outside wear. 

“This is insane,” Jongin said, thumbing the fabric of a shirt. It was nice and most likely expensive. “It’s like he knew.”

“I think he’s just hospitable,” said Baekhyun, burrowing into Jongin’s sheets. Loey had been telling the truth about his intentions with Julian, but they were still wary of trusting him completely. Until they reached that milestone, they decided to sleep in the same room. “You should take a few notes.”

“I have no reason to invite anyone on my ship. We kill and steal for money, Baek. A nice reputation is not what I’m shooting for.”

“Yeah, and Loey’s a saint.” Baekhyun flipped onto his stomach and stared at Jongin with a smirk. “Admit it, you’re cheap.”

Jongin gritted his teeth. “Keep testing me and I’ll sell your personality chip.”

Baekhyun smiled but didn’t push it any further. He flipped around on the bed some more, stretching mechanical limbs. Jongin removed his jacket and pants before shoving him to one side and getting inside the blankets. “Is this easier than you thought it’d be or am I overthinking it?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Baekhyun said, removing his shirt and unloading his gun. “Finding Loey was lucky, but I don’t think it’s too convenient. A man like Julian is bound to have unlimited enemies despite being powerful as he is.”

“I guess.” Jongin looked up at the plain ceiling and watched the fan turn at a lazy pace. “But if we wake up in a cell, I’m blaming you.”

“Fine by me.” Baekhyun turned his back to Jongin and pulled the blankets to his chin. “Now shut up and sleep.”

~

“I still have no idea why you had to invite them aboard.”

“We need all the help we’re gonna get if we wanna defeat Julian, Soo,” Chanyeol said as he placed a tea kettle on the stove. “And they don’t seem to pose too much of a threat.”

Kyungsoo rested his chin on his palm, his gaze perplexed. “You trust too easily.”

“No, I don’t.” He opened the cupboards and pulled out a jar of tea bags. “What do you want?”

“Earl grey.” Kyungsoo’s eyes burned into his back as he chose an earl grey bag. For his own, Chanyeol decided on chamomile because he’d been having trouble sleeping the past few days. “They’re basically children. How much help are they gonna offer?”

“Well those kids managed to infiltrate Mercury’s most sacred temple and stole their prized possession. I don’t think that’s something to glance over.”

Kyungsoo sighed, running a hand through his shortly cropped hair. “They tricked a couple of monks. So what? This is Julian we’re talking about. The man has a body count into the hundreds.”

“I’m really too tired to argue right now, Soo. Can’t you just take my word for it? When have I ever led you down the wrong path?”

“Never,” Kyungsoo said, frowning.

“Exactly.” A high pitched whistle sounded and Chanyeol removed the kettle from heat. Kyungsoo was silent as he prepared the tea, adding a little bit of honey into each clay mug. The android offered a small “thank you” as he accepted the hot beverage, but he refrained from meeting Chanyeol’s eyes. “What’s the matter now?”

“Nothing really. I trust you, I really do, so… I’m thinking about the girl now.” Kyungsoo took a tentative sip. The tea was scalding for Chanyeol at the moment, but his tongue couldn’t get burned. “Poor thing.”

“Yeah. Her and at least a hundred other kids.” Since he couldn’t quite drink his tea at the moment, Chanyeol opted to warm his hands by enveloping the mug completely. “That Lay’s just as much of a bastard as Julian. He acts so holy, but he didn’t even bother to protect his family. He won’t get his niece himself.” He shook his head. “I’m so sick and tired of these selfish assholes. I should’ve just killed Julian the first time I met him.”

“But you didn’t.” Kyungsoo leaned back in his wooden chair, cup still in his hands. “There’s no use in dwelling over the past.”

Chanyeol scowled. The tea in front of him didn’t seem as appetizing as it had when he decided to make it. He glanced to his left where two bedroom doors remained shut tight. “Yeah.” He couldn’t get the Moon Elf out of his mind, and it was getting painfully frustrating. He had enough to worry about as it was. “I can’t wait until this is all over and done with.”

“You seem confident this will work in your favor.”

“It will. It has to.” Chanyeol finally tried to take a sip of his tea, but he’d been too hasty. It burned as it rolled down his throat. “Why don’t you go ahead and sleep? I’ll drive.”

“You sure?” Kyungsoo was finished drinking as it was. “You can go ahead and drive, but wouldn’t you rather I watch the guests?”

“They’re harmless.” He stood up and collected their cups. “Good night, Soo.”

Kyungsoo seemed wary to leave Chanyeol on his own, but in their years together, he knew that when the man offered to drive, he wanted to be left alone and there was little hope in changing his mind. “Alright, good night. Don’t forget to change your bandages, though.”

“Got it.” Chanyeol put the dishes in the sink, deciding he’d wash them in the morning as Kyungsoo retreated to his bed and charging port. Everything was silent. Chanyeol let himself exhale, tension releasing from his shoulders. Before moving, he waited until he heard the locking of Kyungsoo’s door and the faint  _ ding  _ of him plugging himself in. 

The ship was on autopilot as it was so he had time to spare before he went to the cockpit as he promised he would. Chanyeol’s feet were moving on their own, right up to the Moon Elf’s door. Kai, as he called himself. It was as fake a name as Loey. Never in a million years did he think he would see a bounty hunter Moon Elf. They were almost as reclusive as humans, Chanyeol’s kind. He wondered if they had similar origin stories.

He slid the door open slightly, the locks listening to his hands. The android moved into his bed. He was a funny machine. Chanyeol bought Kyungsoo a top of the line personality chip, but he didn’t joke around with him like Baek joked around with Kai. That didn’t mean he didn’t love Kyungsoo because he did, he was just confused on what he did wrong. Baek was like another living, breathing being, and the only way he could’ve become like that was because of Kai.

The two were sleeping soundly, no motivations to kill Chanyeol or Kyungsoo in their slumber were evident. The Moon Elf was half inside the blankets, half out. Despite the misuse, he managed to steal all the covers from the android. Chanyeol smiled, shutting the door as he figured he’d seen enough. 

Chanyeol poured himself a cold glass of water and headed towards the cockpit. He felt strangely relaxed. More than he had ever been. The stars were bright and beautiful through the sunshield, and the ship was doing fine itself navigating the asteroids and space rubble. Chanyeol settled into the pilot’s chair and wrapped himself in the blanket he kept there for nights like these. He gulped down half the glass of water and set it to the side.

“Watch out, Julian,” he whispered. “I’m going to kill you if it’s the last thing I do.”

~

Jongin awoke to the smell of food for the first time since he was a child.

Groggily, he pushed himself up and rubbed his fists against his eyes. To his side, Baekhyun was still asleep, his chestnut hair mussed and lips parted in soft snores. Jongin let him be and pulled on the pair of sweatpants Loey left in the closet. They were loose and slightly too long, but better than nothing. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he slid the door open all the way. It was already slightly ajar even though he swore he remembered closing and locking it before he slept.

Shrugging, he followed the scent of food, taming his bedhead with his fingers to the best of his ability.

At the end of the trail, he found Loey bent over a stove in a loose fitting tank top and sweatpants in a similar style to the kind Jongin had on.

“Good morning,” he said softly.

Loey flinched, shoulders tensed as he turned. When he focused on Jongin, his face softened. “Oh. Good morning.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“‘S alright.” Loey’s morning voice was deeper than his normal one. Jongin was trying his hardest to remain impartial to the man, but he was surprisingly charming. The way he seemed to be doing it so effortlessly was what had Jongin refraining from rolling his eyes. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine.” 

“Good. I’m making some rice and eggs. Hope that’s alright.” 

Jongin could tell by his tone that he could care less whether Jongin agreed with his choice of food or not. He didn’t expect him to, either. “Is that Earthen?”

“Oh yeah. I forget you weren’t for a second there.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll try everything once.”

“Huh. You’re strange for a Moon Elf, aren’t you?”

Jongin’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Loey turned off the stove before turning to face him. “Nothing really. I just heard your kind sticks to what they know, just like mine.”

“That sounds like a stereotype,” Jongin said, smirking.

The human’s eyes widened. “I guess it does, sorry, I--”

“Don’t apologize.” Jongin took a seat at the small dining table. “I’m just messing with you. It’s a stereotype, but it comes from a place of truth, I guess.”

Loey smiled slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest. He had impressive arms, built with firm muscle and smooth, porcelain skin. There were scattered tattoos of figures that must’ve been significant on Earth, but were a mystery to Jongin. “Why’d you leave, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I was bored.” Jongin shrugged. “I wanted to see the galaxy, but my family didn’t, so I just… left.” People always expected something epic when they asked him, a Moon Elf, why he decided to leave Luna, but they were always left disappointed. Jongin wished he could offer them something else, but crafting a fiction seemed like too much effort to impress strangers. He expected the same reaction he was used to from Loey. Maybe a frown or an uninterested ‘oh’, but he simply nodded.

“Interesting.”

“Not really.” Jongin ruffled his hair, catching his fingers in loose tangles. “What about you? I heard it’s a three year process to leave Earth.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to leave, but I was the same way as you. I had to get out.”

Loey was lying. Jongin didn’t have to be an android to figure that out. He turned back to the stove as soon as he was done talking and began to plate breakfast for two. “Kyungsoo doesn’t eat solid food so I assumed Baek was the same?”

“He eats when he chooses, but that’s not often, so you’re all good.” Jongin was curious as to what Loey was hiding. His truth was boring, but at least he didn’t lie. He found that slightly unfair, but he wasn’t rude enough to point it out. They were still strangers, and Loey owed him nothing. “You said something about knowing where Julian is. Where exactly are we going?”

“Julian lives away from all the action. He’s got a home on almost every planet, but he frequents the two on the north and south pole of Pluto the post often. We’re heading to the north right now because even if Julian isn’t there, the girl is.” Loey slid him a plate. “What do you want to drink?”

“Water is fine.” Jongin inspected the food. It was steaming white grains beneath what he assumed were ‘eggs’. He didn’t recognize either, but they smelled good enough. “How do you know?”

“I’ve spent a good portion of my life learning how to ruin Julian’s.” Loey’s hate for Julian seemed slightly more than the abduction of an old friend would normally warrant. Jongin might be overanalyzing things, but now he was even more desperate to know Loey’s secrets. “His northern office is where he keeps potential merchandise and the south is for when he really, really wants to be away from it all.”

Jongin cut into the egg first, the same way he saw Loey do. The yellow part broke and oozed, and he did his best to hide his surprise. As weird as it looked, it tasted a lot better than the pre packaged food Jongin stocked his cupboards with on his old ship, at least. “Did he tell you all this himself?”

“Surprisingly, yes.” Though Loey used a pair of two sticks to eat, he’d given Jongin a typical fork. “I brought him a Venusian from Myrtle Beach. The half fish kind, y’know? So he invited me out drinking, and his walls crumble fast when he’s drunk.”

“Even drunk, all that seems sensitive.” The rice didn’t hold any surprises like the eggs which Jongin was thankful for. “He can’t be that much of an idiot.”

“He isn’t, but it’s easy to trust someone that you think is as bad as you.” Loey set his utensils down and ran his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip. “Well… maybe I  _ am _ as bad as him. I did bring him three people just to gain information. ‘S how I got these,” he said, gesturing to his bandaged face.

Jongin sipped at his water, wincing at the slight metallic taste. “Julian’s hurt far more than three lives. And anyways, you did what you had to. You’ll get thanks from far more than three people once we kill the bastard.”

“Good point.” He gestured towards Jongin’s empty plate. “You done?”

“Yeah.” Jongin pushed it towards him. “It was very good, thank you.”

“My pleasure. I’m glad you liked it.” 

Jongin couldn’t help but watch him intently as he cleaned the two plates and cups. Prominent muscles flexed through his flimsy shirt with even the slightest of movements. He sucked on his bottom lip, thoroughly enjoying his view in silence as he caught someone sliding into the chair beside him out of his peripheral vision. “Mornin’, Baek.”

At the hint that someone else had arrived, Loey moved away from his work and offered the android a tight lipped smile.

“Morning, Kai,” Baekhyun mumbled. “Can you check my batteries? I feel exhausted.”

“Sure.” Baekhyun kicked his bare foot onto the table and Jongin opened the compartment on the bottom. Loey was staring as he dried his hands on a rag. Droplets of water splattered over his torso, turning portions of his shirt see through. Gulping, Jongin averted his attention back to Baekhyun. “It says you’re at half power. Could it be something else?”

“I don’t know.” Baekhyun looked exactly like how he said he felt. The skin under his hooded eyes was dark and his movements were slow. “Maybe I should just go back to sleep.”

“Yeah, you do that. I’ll wake you up if anything happens.”

Baekhyun stumbled off to bed. Jongin wasn’t too worried as this might just be a problem in adjusting to a new bed and atmosphere. It was harder for androids to assimilate than it was for others. Kyungsoo would probably be the same if they decided to take Jongin’s ship instead.

“Can Baek charge or is he strictly battery powered?” Loey asked once the android left.

“Strictly battery powered, I’m afraid.” Jongin frowned. “You don’t happen to have any of those handy, do you?”

“No, sadly. We can stop to get some after we get Ying Yue. Will half power last long enough for that?”

“Depends on how good Julian’s security system is.”

Loey rubbed his chin. “I see. Maybe he should just stay back with Kyungsoo then.”

“So… it’s a tough security system?”

“In a way. He’s got guards and cameras in every point of his mansion, but the guards will recognize me and Kyungsoo will disable the cameras. Just to be safe, Baek can stay back.”

“Sounds good.” Jongin yawned and stretched back in his chair. His back cracked and his shoulders popped. He hadn’t even realized how tense he’d been. “How long until we’re there, anyway?”

“Just a couple of hours now.” Loey looked down at a nice watch on his wrist. “You can go clean up, if you’d like. There are toothbrushes and towels and hopefully anything you’d need in the bathroom connected to your room. I’m gonna get ready too. Call me if you need anything.”

Jongin hummed in appreciation and Loey walked away. He’d go, eventually, but he took these few moments of silence to finally think clearly. They were heading to the place Loey said Ying Yue was being held. Even if guards recognized Loey, he couldn’t imagine them being okay with him removing a prisoner which meant they’d have to fight. Jongin groaned. Foolishly, he’d been planning on avoiding that. There wasn’t a chance in hell any of this would go smoothly. Not to mention the dilemma on what they’d do with Ying Yue after they got her. Do they take her back to Lay on Saturn or kill Julian with her in tow?

Times like these, Jongin wished he was more of a planner. He had hoped Loey was,but it appeared as if they were both creatures of instinct.

Sighing, Jongin sat up and headed to the bathroom. If things turned out badly, he wished Julian killed him. He’d rather die than live as a collection piece.

~

“We’re here.”

Loey’s voice streamed through Jongin’s closed door. He knew this was coming, but his stomach was still uneasy. Huffing, he glanced over himself in the mirror with pursed lips. All Loey provided for pants were pairs of black cargo pants that were, again, not his size. The grey shirt that came with it was no more appealing, even tucked in. He didn’t like going outside looking less than, but he figured he had to settle. 

“I’m leaving now.” Half asleep, Baekhyun grunted, pulling the comforter over his head. Jongin scratched his head. “No words of encouragement? There’s a chance I might not come back.”

“Don’t.”

Jongin shook his head. “Don’t  _ what? _ ”

“Don’t not come back,” Baekhyun murmured. His voice hadn’t gotten any better. Despite the near twelve hours he’d been sleeping, he sounded as if he’d been pulling all nighters for a week. “Now go away.”

Even tired, he still had the energy to be a bitch.

“Well… I’ll see you when I see you.”

Baekhyun said nothing, too busy pretending to be asleep. Jongin dragged this out as slow as he could, but it was time to leave now. He heard Loey’s heavy boots approaching yet again. Before he could knock, Jongin whipped the door open. In his haste, he didn’t think of how close that would put them, nearly chest to chest, his forehead to Loey’s chin. Clearing his throat, the Earthen stepped back. The rounded tips of his ears that peeked through his hair pinkened, and Jongin smiled. 

“Sorry. I take a long time to get ready.”

“No worries.” Loey raked his eyes from Jongin’s boots to his white hair, and if he liked what he saw, he didn’t show it. “Kyungsoo put us a ten minute walk away from Julian’s office, hope that’s alright.”

Jongin wondered why Loey even bothered to try and make it seem like he had any other choice but to listen to him. This wasn’t his ship and he wasn’t the one leading the effort. He knew that. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo knew that. Loey knew that, and the faster he started acting like it, the better for Jongin’s sanity.

“I don’t care. It’ll make a quick escape hard, though.”

“I’ll call him closer once we find the girl.”

“Mhm.”

Jongin let Loey lead him to the exit. He pulled his jacket on, cold air already hitting his bare skin through the cracks. It came in gusts once Loey finally pulled it open and deployed the platform. Barely a minute in, Jongin was distracted by the chattering of his teeth and raised gooseflesh.

Hecate, he hated Pluto.

“You got a weapon?”

Jongin pressed his hand against his back, feeling for the familiar bulge beneath his jacket just to confirm he hadn’t forgotten. The pockets of Loey’s gifted pants were big enough to hold his sheathed knife. “Yeah. Two.”

“Good. Let’s hope we don’t have to use ‘em, but just to be safe.”

Jongin understood. He also didn’t see many futures in which his gun  _ wouldn’t  _ lose a few bullets or his knife would stay clean. Loey was a lot more positive than he. That or he was lying to himself. He couldn’t be enough of an idiot to truly think nothing was going to go wrong. People like Jongin and Loey weren’t allowed that sort of blissful ignorance.

Loey’s feet hit land first, clouds of dust surrounding his legs as he walked. Jongin felt tiny pieces of rock and sand already in between the sole of his shoes and socks. “Oh, I hate this.”

“Did you say something?”

Loey looked back at him, visibly concerned. Jongin realized he couldn’t be honest because that would make him look spoiled. “Ah, it’s nothing.”

Loey nodded and returned to his steady pace a few steps in front of Jongin. He walked with confidence, like the terrain of Pluto was familiar to him. If Jongin was weird for a Moon Elf, Loey was far weirder for an Earthen. He didn’t have extra limbs or weird markings etched into his skin, but he could blend into a crowd of Plutarians off pure aura alone. Maybe that was why Julian trusted him so much. His poise and normality worked beautifully in his favor.

Jongin’s hands were on his ears again. He’d tried moving his hair every which way before they left, but no matter what, the blue tips poked through. He never had an insecurity before, but if this was what it felt like, he didn’t like it at all. 

“What’s on your mind?”

“Huh?”

Either Loey slowed down, or Jongin sped up, but he’d been too sucked into his own head to realize they were side by side now. “You look like you’re thinking.”

“You’re plenty observant,” Jongin said, scoffing.

“I know. It’s a skill of mine.”

Loey smiled so Jongin couldn’t help but do the same. “Yeah, I was thinking then, I guess, but when am I not? It’s impossible to  _ not  _ be thinking about something.” Jongin didn’t want to tell Loey the truth, so he avoided it.

“Even when you’re sleeping?”

“Of course. When you’re sleeping, you’re dreaming.”

“Not me.”

Jongin looked to Loey, bemused. “What the hell are you saying?”

Loey shrugged. “I don’t dream.”

“Bullshit. You just don’t remember them when you wake up.”

“So what’d you dream about last night?” he challenged.

Jongin wanted to ask why this was necessary, but he remembered they were barely two minutes into their ten minute walk. Loey must not be a fan of silence. To humor him, Jongin tried to think back to just a few hours ago. His dreams were fresh on his mind because he remembered being pissed he woke up in the midst of something good happening, but it was all fuzzy now. “I can’t really… I can’t really recall. Probably wasn’t important enough for me to.”

“If you could… what do you think it would be about?”

Jongin’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why do you wanna know?”

“Because.” Loey looked down at his wrist. A tiny map was displayed on the screen, and Jongin assumed they were the even tinier moving red dot. “We still have six minutes.”

“Alright then,” Jongin chuckled. “I think I dream about my family and home a lot. What life would’ve been if I never left. They’re technically not nightmares, but… they remind me of how boring life on Luna was.”

“Do you miss them?”

Jongin nodded. “A lot. I loved them.  _ Love  _ them, but… the life they wanted for me wasn’t what I wanted. I like to think that I’m totally and completely satisfied with the choices I’ve made, but I don’t think I would dream about them so much if I was.”

“You dream about people you love?”

“Most people tend to.”

Loey bobbed his head like this was some sort of informational lecture. He was hanging onto every word Jongin was speaking, and it made him shudder. He made Jongin feel as if he was heard. It wasn’t something he was used to. Baekhyun cared, but it was rare that they would ever talk about life before they found their way to each other. Jongin never considered it a story worth telling until Loey made him feel as if he was reading from a best selling novel. He didn’t like talking about himself normally, but he wasn’t the same then. He wanted Loey to keep asking about the things he kept hidden for so many years.

“Have you ever considered going back to them?”

“Sometimes.” Jongin held the back of his neck. “But they probably hate me. I came home from school one day, and the next I didn’t. I imagine they spent years looking for me. If I went back, they’d realize I wasn’t kidnapped or abducted, and they’d feel as if they wasted all that time.”

“Interesting.”

“Is that… is that selfish?”

“A little.” Loey shrugged. “But I can’t say I’m much better. I’ve dedicated my life to getting revenge on Julian, and I’ve had to step on some people to get where I am.” 

Jongin smiled warily. “I guess we both suck then.”

Loey laughed, and Jongin decided he liked the sound of it. “I guess we do.”

Jongin looked ahead and caught sight of a home in the distance. The reason as to which they were walking together at the moment came back to him. He forgot about it all. Because of Loey, he forgot the cold, Julian, and Ying Yue. All of it came back at once, and it didn’t feel good.

“Stay behind me,” Loey said as they approached tall wooden doors. The structure reminded him of a grand log cabin, but instead of being surrounded by a plush forest, it was simply Pluto’s barren landscape for as far as Jongin could see. Loey tapped his knuckles against the entrance, his hand stuffed into the inside of his jacket. Following his example, Jongin put his hand on his gun.

They waited for a few moments before a voice came from an invisible source.  _ “Who is it?” _

“My name is Loey. I have an appointment with Julian.”

_ “Mr. Julian isn’t in today.” _

“Oh. I have a package to deliver to him.”

Jongin’s heart skipped a couple beats. Loey was a very good liar. At least… he hoped he was lying.  _ “You can drop it off with me. Wait right there.” _

He had a gun. He could shoot Loey while his attention was directed towards the door and run to the ship. Jongin didn’t see Kyungsoo as much of an obstacle. All he had to do was--

“Calm down.”

“W-What?”

“You can calm down. I’m lying.”

“How can I be su--”

The door swung open and before Jongin could blink, the man that opened it was laying on the rug on the interior, bleeding from a hole between his eyes. 

“I had to get someone to open the door for us,” Loey said, kicking the limp body to the side, his smoking gun hanging from his hand. 

“Just for future reference,” Jongin grumbled. “I don’t like playing bait.”

Loey glanced to him, wiping away the blood that splattered across his cheek. “Sorry. I’ll remember that from now on.” The mess had been made on the bandaged side of his face. He winced when he ran his hand over it. “Just know that I’m on your side. I promise.”

Jongin scowled. “You should’ve said something before. I was about to shoot you, y’know?”

“Ah.” Loey laughed sheepishly, rubbing his nape like Jongin  _ didn’t  _ just tell him he almost died. “Maybe I deserve that. I’ll be more upfront with you.”

Jongin still couldn’t see through the chipper tone he used to say everything. He untucked his gun, now aware that he had to be ready to use it on both Julian’s men or, unfortunately, Loey. 

“Let’s get going. We don’t have much time until someone realizes the cameras aren’t working and a post is empty.”

“Where are we going?”

“Upstairs,” Loey said just in time for them to reach the base of a winding staircase. Jongin looked up and saw a row of closed doors and a golden chandelier, casting the whole room in an eerie sort of light. “We’re going to open those doors, and we’re going to see some people that aren’t Ying Yue. It’s up to you whether or not we take them with us.”

Loey spoke urgently. He knew they were on a time constraint, and he was  _ still  _ giving Jongin a choice. He didn’t appreciate it, especially this time. How was he supposed to give his answer without sounding like a monster? “We… We should focus on Ying Yue for now. It’ll be easier to kill Julian and free them later on than free them now.”

“Good. I was thinking the same thing.” Loey ran up the staircase, two hands on his gun, eyes scanning every visible corner. He said the whole place was guarded, but the house was so quiet, it seemed dead. Jongin hoped he’d been mistaken because this was turning out better than he’d thought. “Will you be able to recognize her?”

Jongin thought back to the picture Lay gave them and conjured up the image of a young, sweet-faced girl with pale yellow hair and a third eye in the middle of her forehead. “Yeah. I will.”

Loey ran to the first door. The knob gave way when he turned it. “Check,” he told Jongin. Without hesitation, Jongin ran into the small room that matched none of the grandeur of the outside. A body lay slumbering on a tiny bed. Drugged, most likely. Jongin took note of two eyes and cerulean skin. A Neptunite. He shook his head as he ran back out towards Loey.

“Dammit,” the Earthen muttered, moving to the second door. Jongin found another sleeping body, but it wasn’t a Saturian. His stomach tightened and his heart sped up.

“Are you kidding me?” Loey hissed when Jongin came out. “She  _ has  _ to be here somewhere.” There was desperation in both his voice and his figure as he went to the third, fourth, and fifth door. All of the inhabitants sleeping, none of them Ying Yue. Jongin whispered a silent prayer as he went in the sixth and final door, his throat tightening when he set eyes on a young Jupitarian boy. 

“What the fuck?”

Loey promised. He  _ promised  _ Ying Yue would be here. Jongin’s hands tightened into his fists. He disliked a lot of things, but he absolutely  _ despised  _ whatever was happening here. He whipped his head around to face Loey who was looming in the doorway. Jongin’s top lip peeled back, a low growl emitting from the base of his throat. Loey looked confused at first, but as soon as Jongin’s gun was at his throat, that didn’t change. “What are you--”

“Do you think this is fucking funny?”

“Kai--”

“What the hell are you playing at here?” Jongin pressed the barrell tighter against the man’s neck. He backed Loey back up against the railing. One slight push and the Earthen would go tumbling down a height that wouldn’t kill him, but  _ fuck,  _ it would hurt. “You think you’re really smart, don’t you? Pretending you’re on my side so I’ll walk right into Julian’s hands?”

Loey gulped, his adam’s apple bobbing. “Listen, you’ve got it all wrong--”

“Where is she?” Jongin yelled. He pressed their bodies closer. Loey’s gun was against his stomach, but he wasn’t scared of it. His bullet would blow Loey’s head clean off, but Loey’s wouldn’t kill him. “You said she would be here, so where is she?!”

“You need to calm down. This isn’t the place for us to fight.”

“I don’t like being messed around with,” Jongin seethed. This wasn’t the first time he’d been lied to, but he promised himself that the previous time would be the last he’d let anyone get away with it. “I’ll fight wherever I want. I’ll shoot you right here unless you give me a good enough reason not to.”

“Kai, I swear to you that I’m on your side. I thought Ying Yue would be here. I really did.” For once, Loey didn’t sound all that confident. Jongin figured it had something to do with his life depending on a small and quick movement of Jongin’s trigger finger. “I didn’t trick you. I didn’t do this to lead you into Julian’s hands, but that’s where you’ll end up if we stay here any longer.”

“I don’t fucking trust you, you godsdamn liar.” He could feel everyone of Loey’s breaths, his chest moving against his, each one shallower than the last. Jongin took pride in the fact that he was scared, and he should be. If he really was playing double agent, he was going to regret it the moment Jongin made up his mind. 

Loey’s face hardened. The youthful, playful puppy look he had going on disappeared in a second. “Then do it.” Loey’s gun moved from Jongin’s stomach and clattered to the ground. “ If you truly think I betrayed you, shoot me. I’ll let you.” To emphasize his point, he leaned into the weapon, pressing it deeper into the hollow of his neck. Their faces were centimeters from touching, and he could feel Loey’s fresh and warm breath fan over him. “C’mon. What are you waiting for? We’ve got an audience now.”

Jongin’s eyes flitted down. A line of Plutarians waited for them at the base of the stairs. They had no obvious weapons, but they wore the uniform of the man they left dead at the door. Jongin knew he couldn’t fight them all on his own. 

“Prove it to me.”

“What?”

“Prove we’re on the same side. Tell me your real name.”

Loey scowled. “How’s that supposed to prove anything? I don’t know your na--”

With a quick movement of his foot, Jongin sent Loey’s discarded gun falling to the bottom of the stairs, leaving him truly defenseless. “Tell me now or I’ll shoot.”

Loey’s face tightened. He was angry.  _ “Fine,”  _ he spat. “It’s Chanyeol. My name is Chanyeol.”

Jongin didn’t move the gun right away, fearing that would be a mistake, but… he made a deal. For a real name, he’d let his guard down. “That’s a stupid name,” Jongin grumbled, letting his hand fall.

Chanyeol moved away quickly, his hands wrapping around his neck and his breathing labored. “You’re cruel,” he said, laughing like it pained him.

“I hate you.”

“Ha.” He moved his hand and revealed a red mark against his smooth skin. Jongin would’ve felt bad, but he cared a lot less about Chanyeol than he had a few minutes ago. “I’ll handle this,” he said, referring to the guards that still hadn’t moved. “I assume they’re waiting for us to come to them.”

“I don’t care.”

Chanyeol moved past Jongin swiftly. His self-assurance was back as he approached the Plutarians. They talked about something that Jongin couldn’t hear at the top of the stairs. He waited for all of them to pull out their guns and shoot both of them dead. He was prepared for it, actually, but when the woman Chanyeol had been talking to reached into her suit jacket, she handed Chanyeol an envelope. Jongin’s eyes narrowed as they walked away. 

“Let’s head out,” Chanyeol called up to him, but Jongin didn’t move. He frowned. “I thought we were on the same page now.”

“Why didn’t they kill you?”

“We’re leaving empty handed.” Chanyeol sighed. “I don’t know what more I have to say to you, Kai. You can stay here and pout as long as you want, but I’m going back to the ship now. With or without you.” He waited for a response. When he got none, his shoulders fell and he walked away. Jongin watched him, increasingly infuriated at both himself and the Earthen. He lost his cool, and  _ still  _ wasn’t sure whether or not it was warranted. 

He put his trust in the man even though he knew better. Maybe it all had been an honest mistake, a misunderstanding. Jongin wasn’t in chains at the moment so that wasn’t the problem. The problem wasn’t Chanyeol. The problem was Jongin and the naivete he thought he left behind. All Chanyeol had to do was say that they were on the same side, and he so easily and so stupidly followed him. 

Jongin chose to work with an android and an android only because they didn’t have the brain capacity to work against their buyer. He was skeptical about Chanyeol at first during their first meeting outside Elysium, but he truly thought that it would be nice to work alongside someone without a computer for a brain. As always, Baekhyun was right. People came to him not because of a good reputation but because they thought he was easy.

He didn’t want to work with Chanyeol anymore.

But without Chanyeol, he was trapped on Pluto’s barren north pole. Jongin finally forced himself to start moving. If needed, he could escape later on, but this wasn’t the optimal place to be left stranded. He caught up to Chanyeol. The man glanced at him and said nothing, but Jongin saw him try and fail to contain a smile.

Kyungsoo moved the ship closer. They walked out of the house and the platform was a short jog away. The androids were waiting at the top, expectant. Baekhyun asked something, most likely about how it went or why they didn’t have Ying Yue, but Jongin walked right past him, making a b-line to his room. The doors slid, but if he could, he would’ve slammed it behind him.

~

“I take it things didn’t go well.” Baek watched Kai march into their room, his face tight and an angry blush spreading down to his neck. He didn’t run after him like Chanyeol thought he would. He didn’t even look all that concerned. The nature of their relationship was a hard one to decipher.

Chanyeol nodded, his lips tight. “Yeah. You could say that.”

“Where’s Ying Yue?”

“Not here.”

“What? But you said--”

“I know what I said.” Chanyeol’s head hurt. All he wanted was to down a bottle of painkillers and sleep for a week, but he couldn’t avoid the explaining he had to do. “Kyungsoo, get us out of here.”

“But--”

“I’ll explain everything later! Just go!” Kyungsoo frowned, but he left anyway, looking back as he did. When Chanyeol raised his voice, he knew to listen. That left Baek and Chanyeol alone. He expected the android to go to Kai now as this was his best chance, but he stayed put. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah,” Baek said. “Tell me what happened.”

“You can ask your friend.”

“I don’t want to ask him. I want to ask you.”

Chanyeol didn’t feel like being interrogated. He knew he messed up. He knew that Jongin had every right to get as angry as he did and he came within a hair’s width of getting his head blown off. He knew all that so why’d he have to explain it to someone else? “I thought Ying Yue would be there. I was wrong.”

“A little more than that happened. I’m not stupid.”

“Well… Kai thought I tricked him. We fought. That’s it.”

“Shit.” Baek ran a hand through his hair, puffing up his cheeks. “Jong-- _ Kai  _ jumps to conclusions easily. I assume he threatened to kill you?”

“Yeah. I don’t think he was bluffing either.”

“He definitely wasn’t. Kai’s been… well, he’s got some pretty bad trust issues, to put it simply. Bad experiences with bad people tend to do that.” Baek’s eyes turned green and Chanyeol startled. He’d never seen Kyungsoo do something like that. “Did you trick him? Did you really think Ying Yue was there?”

“Y-Yeah. I, um, I really did.”

Baek’s eyes returned to the normal grey and he sighed. “Alright. I believe you.” He gestured to the paper in Chanyeol’s hands. “What’s that?”

“Oh.” He almost forgot about it. “We were caught by Julian’s guards. They didn’t kill us, but they gave us this.”

“What does it say?”

Chanyeol tore open the wax seal, dropping the envelope to unfurl the cream colored paper inside it. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

“So?”

Chanyeol turned the paper for the android to see, shaking his head. “I underestimated him. He’s as powerful as he is today for a reason.”

Baek gasped, his slender fingers against his lips. “No way. How could he have known you were coming  _ and  _ moved Ying Yue in time?”

“I’ve got no godsdamn idea.” Chanyeol’s hands trembled as he restrained the primal urge to tear the letter to a million little pieces.. This was all Julian’s fault. That wretched bastard. Kai hated him now, and it was all his fault. “Can you tell Kai about this? If he wants to talk… he can meet me in the cockpit.”

“No promises that he won’t try to kill you again.”

Baek said it like a joke so Loey forced a laugh, but it wasn’t all that funny. On the walk to Julian’s office, it seemed like Kai was warming up to him. He spoke easily and honestly and Chanyeol  _ liked  _ talking to him. He thought he was finally on his way to making his first friend in years, but that progress was shattered. “Sounds good. Thanks, Baek. I’ll talk to you later.”

~

_ “You really thought it would be that easy? That you could just wander into my home and steal something of mine? _

_ I’m disappointed in you, Loey. I thought we were friends, and I thought you were smarter than this. From now on, we’re no longer business partners, or anything of the sort. The next time you trespass on my private property will be your last. _

_ In the meanwhile, tell your pretty new friend that the girl is safe and perhaps we can make a deal… if he can find me, that is. _

_ Farewell, _

_ Julian.” _

“What a complete asshole.”

“Tell me about it. Good fucking handwriting, though,” Baekhyun said, kicking his legs up on Chanyeol’s small dining table as he turned off the picture he took of the letter. “I hate to say it, but this is just a little impressive. He was, like, more than three steps ahead of us.”

Jongin couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. Not even just a little bit. When he said he expected things to go awry, he meant he expected handcuffs around his wrists or a bullet between his eyes. He didn’t expect, and most of all, didn’t  _ like  _ the reality of his gun against Chanyeol’s throat and Julian’s ominous letter. Baekhyun was trying to make things better, bless his mechanical heart, but his miniscule understanding of human emotions was starting to show through. 

“Yeah.” Jongin knotted his fingers together and he gnawed on the inside of his cheek. He tried sleeping to get his disorganized mind to rest, but he ended up staring at a wall for ten minutes, overanalyzing everything he did wrong until Baekhyun coaxed him out. He wished he stayed, now, because to be across from yet another person judging actions he already knew were wrong was slightly worse than being left alone. “When he says make a deal… do you think he’ll ask me to trade places with Ying Yue?”

“Most likely. By the sound of his willingness to meet you, though, I don’t think he’s aware of the part of the mission Lay gave you in which it’s only completed once Julian is dead. That could work in your favor,” said Baekhyun simply. “He goes in thinking he’s trading a Saturian for a Moon Elf, you leave with Ying Yue while his body collects dust. Woah, I actually kinda like that. I think you should go through with it.”

“That’s just playing bait.”

Baekhyun frowned. “Oh. Yeah. Didn’t realize.”

Jongin knew he was being harsh, and the android was trying to help, but he hadn’t gotten over the events in the cabin. He didn’t have enough space in his brain to think up a new plan with no certainty on whether or not it would work. He was alive at the moment because of an act of mercy from Julian. A backhanded one, but an act of mercy all the same. What was truly nipping away at him was the horrible feeling that he didn’t deserve it. Jongin should’ve died back there. He lost his cool, got him and Chanyeol caught… the only probable next step should’ve been their deaths, but they evaded that. They evaded death so Julian could continue to play a game Jongin wasn’t sure was worth the two million coins.

“Maybe you were right all along. Maybe we should’ve let Lay call someone else.”

“You’re not serious, are you?”

“Do I really look like I’m in the mood to be joking right now?”

Baekhyun scanned Jongin’s tight face and lips that hadn’t changed in nearly half an hour and shrugged. “I don’t know, but that sounds plenty rich coming from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re not the kind of person to give up so easily, and I’m starting to wonder if the Jongin that left is the same one that came back.”

“That’s stupid.”

_ “You’re  _ stupid,” Baekhyun retorted. “You’re the one having a pity party because you’re not dead or captured. Maybe I’m going crazy, but that doesn’t sound very smart to me.”

Jongin gnawed on the inside of his cheek. “You just don’t get it.”

“Then help me get it. Tell me what happened out there.”

Telling Baekhyun the truth meant reliving the experience through his words. He had been hoping he could avoid it by driving the android to his wit’s end with his whining, but it appeared as if he underestimated Baekhyun’s patience. “I… I got angry.”

“How so?”

Jongin gulped thickly. “The more I reflect on it, the more stupid I feel, but… Ying Yue wasn’t there. Obviously. Chanyeol gave us a… a-a hypothesis when he said she should be, but somehow I convinced myself into believing he was correct. When I was let down, I… I didn’t handle it well.”

“So putting a gun against his throat was not ‘handling it well’?”

Jongin winced. “H-How’d you know that?”

“I saw the bruise on his neck. He sounds like it hurts to talk.”

“Dear Hecate,” Jongin whimpered. “I swear, I just… I saw red. I was angry and confused and  _ scared,  _ I-I--” he took a moment to catch his breath before his voice cracked, giving Baekhyun another reason to make fun of him. “Was he angry?”

“Very,” said Baekhyun. Jongin dropped his head into his hands. “But not at you.”

“W-What?”

“He was angry but not at you. He was angry at Julian.”

“What the fuck?” Jongin whispered, fisting and tugging his hair. “Why… why  _ wouldn’t  _ he be angry? I almost killed him, for Hecate’s sake. Did he think I was bluffing?”

“I told him you definitely weren’t.”

“Baekhyun!”

The android held up his palm and Jongin relaxed into his chair, not realizing how tense he’d been until he relaxed his shoulders. “Fucking hell, calm down! I’m trying to tell you that he  _ isn’t  _ angry, regardless of what I did or didn’t say.”

Jongin blinked dumbly. “So… are we still working together? What are we going to do next?”

“Do I look like I know?” Baekhyun asked, scoffing. “Go ask him.”

Jongin somehow slumped further down in his chair. It was foolish to think Chanyeol and Baekhyun somehow discussed every single little detail on how they were going to defeat Julian, but it was worth a try to ask. Unfortunately, he couldn’t deny that that meant it was now  _ his  _ job to make his first ever fully thought out battle plan with the man he threatened to shoot.

“Don’t overthink it,” Baekhyun offered, seeing the distress on his face. “Apologize. Be honest on why you reacted the way you did. He may not be angry, but I think it’ll feel good to get that off your chest. He told me that he’s in the cockpit if you’d like to talk”

Jongin’s lips thinned. Again, Baekhyun was right. It wasn’t Chanyeol he was afraid of, it was coming to terms with his own problems that terrified him. “Will you--”

“No, I won’t come with you.” Jongin pouted and Baekhyun cooed. He stood up and sat on the part of the table in front of Jongin. “You’re a big boy now,” he said condescendingly with a hand in his hair. “I think you’ll be able to handle it.”

“If I can’t?”

Baekhyun exhaled slowly, forcing a small smile. “Then I’ll look for a ‘dealing with trauma 101’ book to download, but let’s hope that doesn’t have to happen. You’re gonna have to buy me some extra space.”

Jongin tittered as he caught Baekhyun’s cold hand in his hair, rubbing his knuckles affectionately. “Sounds like a plan.”

~

Kyungsoo was leaving the ship’s cockpit as Jongin approached. In that moment, he knew the android disliked him by the glare he shot with his round, dead eyes. Jongin stiffened, frightened as he walked past, their shoulders bumping.

“He never should’ve let you aboard.”

“You’re right.”

Kyungsoo scowled but walked off without another word. He and Chanyeol were talking about him, then. Jongin sighed, taking the few extra seconds to build up his courage before sliding the door to the cockpit open. There was a rush of cold air immediately, followed by a deafening silence apart from occasional beeps and dings from the ship’s mechanical controls.

Jongin almost forgot he wasn’t alone until he spotted the top of Chanyeol’s head peeking over the pilot’s chair. He cleared his throat to announce his presence as he took the seat next to him.

“Baekhyun told me you wanted to talk.”

Chanyeol was silent. Jongin swallowed thickly, tracing his line of sight out the sun shield. They were inching away from Pluto slowly. She was beautiful, from afar. Jongin felt as if it was appropriate to give her that, at least. One would never predict the feeling of someone constantly breathing down your neck or the relentless cold just by the sight of her. She was plain and her normality was beautiful. You decided she was ugly after seeing what her people decided to do on her surface.

A ship whizzed past, heading to Hecate knows where, but they had to have some sort of cargo to be flying that fast.

Jongin huffed, beginning to abhor the quiet. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I… I lost my cool back there and I’m so sorry if I hurt you—”

“You had every right,” Chanyeol responded, his voice gruffer than normal with disuse.

“W-What?”

“When I told you where we were going and what we were doing… I didn’t want to think I could be mistaken, so I took you along in my delusion.” He turned his face and Jongin gasped to see it bare, the bandages from his eye and cheek gone, leaving almost healed scars in their place. Jongin knew he was handsome already, but he hadn’t prepared himself for the beauty of his face uncovered. “And I scared you. That was the last thing I wanted to happen.”

Jongin’s eye twitched. “Why aren’t you angry?” Chanyeol’s expression remained unbearably blank. “I put a gun to your throat, for Hecate’s sake. I was going to kill you! Yell at me! Get angry!”

As if the raise in Jongin’s voice was no bother, Chanyeol’s head tilted to the side. “Why do you want me to do that?”

“Because that’s what I  _ deserve. _ ” Jongin’s tone took on a pleading, childish edge and he hated that as soon as he heard. 

“I don’t think so,” Chanyeol said, shaking his head. “What you did, you did on account of my mistake. Again, you had every right.”

Baekhyun was right. It did sound like talking hurt him. Jongin craned his neck to catch a glimpse of his neck shamelessly. Sure enough, a mark the size of the barrel of his gun adorned Chanyeol’s otherwise pristine skin. If the roles were switched, if it had been Chanyeol’s gun against Jongin’s neck, he’d show no mercy if given the chance. He’d always supposed that was how people were. For every bad deed done, a punishment of some sort was in order. If Chanyeol didn’t start going ballistic on him soon, Jongin feared his due was going to come from Hecate herself, and the last thing he wanted upon himself was her wrath.

“You can’t possibly believe that.”

“Why not?”

“B-Because… because! You just can’t! That’s not normal.”

“What is?”

Jongin frowned. “Anyone else would be pissed, at  _ least. _ ”

Chanyeol shrugged. “I’m not ‘anyone else’.”

Chanyeol stared back out the sun shield as Jongin’s mouth fell open. “There’s no  _ way  _ you’re human.”

“Hmm?”

“Your kind is vengeful and evil! You almost killed your planet until Venus and Mars had to step in. You should—you should… I’m stereotyping, aren’t I?”

Chanyeol laughed. “A little, but I forgive you. If the little I learned during my time in school means anything, I know your kind has been hurt by mine.”

Jongin scoffed.  _ “Again.  _ You did it again. Shouldn’t you at least be pissed? A little?”

“Not every little mistake is a crime and not every little mistake needs a punishment. You’re still young, but you’ll learn soon enough that if you dedicate yourself to revenge on every single person that’s wronged you, that would be a life wasted.” Chanyeol smiled. “There’s only one person in this entire galaxy that deserves my anger.”

“You talk like your fifty.”

“Maybe I am.”

Jongin couldn’t tell if he was joking. Instead of asking, he hoped he could find the answer in startling at Chanyeol’s face for a little longer. He learned nothing of use from Chanyeol’s quickly growing smile apart from the fact that it was very pretty. “No way you’re fifty. How old are you?”

“That’s not a very polite thing to ask.”

Jongin scowled and his eyebrows narrowed. He knew when he was being played with. “You’re not a rich woman pushing sixty, I can ask you how old you are.”

“But what if I am?”

“Chanyeol!”

“Alright, alright,” Chanyeol said between laughter. “I’m 23. Almost 24. You?”

“See? That wasn’t hard. I’m 22,” Jongin said simply. “You’re not anywhere near old enough to talk the way you do.”

“But I’ve seen enough. Have you seen all nine planets, Kai?”

“Jongin.”

“Hmm?”

The Moon Elf curled a lock of white hair behind his ear. “That’s my real name. Jongin. I guess… I guess it’s fair you know considering I know yours.”

“Mhm. Jongin,” Chanyeol said, taking his time to pronounce every syllable with a sort of care that Jongin’s never heard his name spoken with. Somehow, when Chanyeol said it… he felt like it mattered, like it was his  _ name  _ instead of a bunch of letters carelessly thrown together. “I like it.”

“Th-Thank you,” Jongin said meekly, horrible aware of how pink his cheeks had to be at the moment. “Your name… your name isn’t stupid, by the way.”

“I figured.”

Jongin could only laugh. He knew he said dumb things when he was angry. He was working on it. “I haven’t, y’know. Been to all the planets, I mean. But I want to.” He paused. “So what do you think about the letter?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have anything. My ego took quite the hit.” Chanyeol ruffled his hair. It looked so fluffy, Jongin wanted to be running his fingers through it as well. “You said you don’t like playing bait, so I’m assuming we can’t pretend to play along with what Julian wants?”

Jongin simpered. Chanyeol didn’t think it was stupid or difficult. Everyone he had the displeasure of working with in the past did, but not Chanyeol. He had felt like leaving, but he was glad he didn’t. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so respected. 

“Y-Yeah. That’d be best.”

Chanyeol scratched his chin. “So we have to figure out his next step before he figures out ours… which would’ve sounded easier yesterday.” 

“I think… I think I know who might be able to guess.”

“Who?”

“Well, you’re not gonna like it. Is it enough to say we need to go to Saturn?”

Chanyeol’s face soured. “Well… fuck.”

~

“Kai! What a wonderful surprise!” Lay emerged out of the shack he called a home dressed in a striped blue and white robe with his arms extended. “Can’t say I’m not a little disappointed to not see my niece, but this is a pleasure all the same.” Before Jongin could refuse, the Saturnian and his four arms had him surrounded.

“I-It’s nice to see you too, Lay,” Jongin said, struggling to keep his breakfast down. “And we’re working on finding your niece… we were hoping you could… point us in the right direction.”

“Oh.” Lay’s face fell. “Here I was thinking you came for a friendly visit.  _ Of course  _ you’re just here to talk business. Won’t you come in for some tea first? For me?” He batted his eyelashes, and Jongin noticed the third eye going especially fast. He had so many things to say, so many not so kind things, but he swallowed them down.

Lay was a nice man, he told himself. His looks had absolutely nothing to do with any of this. Jongin was pretty sure he was quite handsome in Saturian standards, anyway.

“Alright,” he sighed. “We’ll… we’ll have some tea.”

“Marvelous!” Lay clapped both pairs of hands together before spinning around quickly and retreating into his home.

“We’re staying for tea now?” Baekhyun asked, walking up to Jongin’s side. “What happened to all this being time sensitive?”

“I couldn’t just  _ say no, _ ” Jongin whimpered. “Plus, it’s his niece. If he’s not in a hurry, maybe there’s a good reason.”

Baekhyun pouted childishly. “I hate it here. He said my eyes would go for a million coins on the black market once.”

“And he told me he heard Moon Elf dandruff was great seasoning for meat. If I can handle him, so can you.” As Baekhyun continued to complain under his breath, Jongin waved Chanyeol and Kyungsoo closer. “C’mon! We’re having tea!”

Saturn had some of the most impressive cities between the nine planets with buildings that went all sorts of directions and all sorts of wonders Jongin still didn’t understand completely. Despite all that, Lay chose to live in the middle of nowhere. He had enough money and recognition to own one of the tallest skyscrapers, but he said he was comfortable where he was. Jongin wished he wasn’t. The kind of bugs and animals that made their way into his house sometimes looked straight out of nightmares. Lay once told them of a snake 12.8 meters long that ate his old house while he was out. Jongin tried to make their visits short ever since then, but he couldn’t see any way around this now.

“Who are your friends, Kai?” Lay asked as they settled around a small table in his kitchen. He poured steaming tea into all their cups, but Jongin and Baekhyun knew better than to drink it. He glanced over to Kyungsoo and Chanyeol, relieved to find they were questioning it as well. 

“This is Loey and his android Kyungsoo. They’ve been helping us track down Julian.”

“Ah. Interesting.” His eyes zeroed in on Chanyeol. “Earthen?”

Chanyeol’s adam’s apple bobbed. If Jongin knew they’d be staying for tea, he’d have debriefed them on what sort of questions from Lay to answer and what sort of questions to not. Sadly, he didn’t know and Chanyeol was on his own. “Um… yes.”

Perfect example of what kind of question  _ not  _ to answer, especially honestly.

“Amazing. I haven’t seen an Earthen in  _ years. _ Loey, are you in the need of any money?” Jongin hoped Chanyeol had enough sense not to answer that, but Lay didn’t give him enough time anyway. “Because I have heard the most  _ fascinating  _ things about the blood of your—”

“Lay!” The doctor startled, three eyes jumping to Baekhyun and the hand he slammed against the table. “Remember Ying Yue? Your niece? The little girl that got kidnapped because of you?”

Jongin couldn’t believe what he was seeing when Lay took a moment to  _ think  _ about Baekhyun’s questions. “Oh yeah,” he said, not nearly as excited as he had been when he was talking to Chanyeol about his blood. “Any leads?”

“One.” Chanyeol got Julian’s letter from his pocket. From his ears to his cheeks, he was pink, and Jongin thought it was adorable. “We got this from him when we stopped by his office.”

Lay took the letter as he put the glasses that accommodated his three eyes on. “Oh wow.” He played with the chain that connected it to his neck, chewing on his bottom lip. “Looks like he’s willing to trade her for you, moonflower.”

Jongin nodded. “Yup.”

“Would you consider—”

“Nope!”

Lay frowned indignantly. “It was worth a try.” He went back to the paper. “You got this on Pluto?” They all nodded. “Well that’s your first problem right there. Julian hasn’t been seen on Pluto in months.”

“Wh-What?” Jongin exclaimed. “Why—Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?”

“You didn’t ask!” 

“Lay!” Baekhyun screamed, eyes wide. “You fucking toe! What’s wrong with you?”

“Don’t  _ yell  _ at me!” The doctor screeched, slapping the paper down. “I can’t be expected to tell you everything! How was I even supposed to know you were going to Pluto?”

“I’m gonna kill him,” Baekhyun grumbled. “I swear, I’m gonna wring his neck.”

Jongin clutched his forearm, reining him in though he was pissed himself. But it wasn’t Lay’s fault he was so… odd. That was what living on your own for so long did to a person. He talked to his plants sometimes. Jongin knew he wasn’t a bad person, and he wasn’t trying to mislead them purposefully. “Okay, okay, Lay. Let’s all calm down.” Baekhyun’s mouth opened to say something, but Jongin’s tightened his grip. “We’re not angry. We’re just… is there  _ anything  _ you can tell us to help us find Julian? We’re asking you now so you have to tell us.”

Lay’s eyes narrowed. “What’s in it for me?”

“Your niece, you moron!” Baekhyun tried standing up so Jongin yanked him down. Lay didn’t respond well to raised voices and shows of aggression. He blinked at the android for a few moments.

“Can I have your eyes?”

“No, you  _ cannot  _ have my fucking—”

Jongin squeezed Baekhyun’s arm yet again. Still seething, he regretfully slumped into his chair, arms crossed tightly over his chest. “Lay, please,” he started, pinching his nose bridge. “Let me remind you of the circumstances. Your niece is missing. You don’t want to be kicked out of the family so you hired us to find her.  _ That  _ is our service to  _ you _ so the absolute  _ least  _ you can offer us is information on Julian’s whereabouts.”

After taking some time to digest all that, Lay nodded. “Okay. That sounds fine.” He stood up. “Follow me. Bring the tea, if you want.”

_ “Don’t bring the tea,”  _ Jongin whispered to Chanyeol and Kyungsoo as softly as he could. Thankfully, Lay didn’t hear. 

They followed the Saturian to an office familiar to Jongin and Baekhyun. Lay sat behind the desk covered in vines and booted up a screen.

“Stay near the middle. Away from the plants. A lot of them are carnivorous,” Jongin said to Chanyeol. The Earthen paled.

“Is this hell?” he asked, squeezing closer and dragging Kyungsoo along with. 

“No. I think it’s worse.”

Chanyeol laughed nervously. His response was cut off by Lay’s overpowering voice. “I keep track of business down here and on other planets by people I’ve come in contact with.” He pointed to something on his screen in a language Jongin didn’t understand. “That includes Julian. The last transaction of his that I have was two weeks ago… on…” he looked closer, squinting. “Hmm. Here. He was here, on Saturn. Paid some hunters for a Neptunite hippocampus hybrid. Huh… horse fish on the top, human on the bottom. Not my taste, but...” Lay shrugged as he closed his screen. “Now that’s all I got from my eyes and ears. He might’ve moved in the past two weeks, but… I don’t think that’s likely.”

Jongin exchanged glances with Chanyeol. “So what does that mean? Where should we go?”

Lay was already scribbling viciously on a piece of scrap paper. “This is a place where most… off the radar business goes down. After planned trade offs, Julian sticks around where he is for a little longer to see what else he can get.”

_ “Kronos Avenue?” _ Jongin asked, reading off the paper.

“Yup!” Lay chirped. “Horrible disgusting place with horrible disgusting people. I think you’ll love it!”

“Was that… a compliment?” Jongin inquired, frowning.

“I think so!”

Jongin released a long breath as he pocketed the paper. “I think that’s all we need. Thank you so much for your help, Lay.” The doctor was getting up and initiating another hug so Jongin prepared himself for that. “We’ll have your niece back in no— _ mmph! _ ” Lay’s lips slammed against his and Jongin all but screamed into the ‘kiss’. He tried to pull away, his eyes wide as Baekhyun laughed his ass off, but Lay’s hands were in his hair.

“I know you’ll make me proud, moonflower!” 

Jongin was entirely speechless and he stumbled a few steps away, rubbing his lips dry. Baekhyun was still laughing, nearly doubled over. Even Kyungsoo cracked the smallest of smiles. For some reason, Chanyeol looked almost as scarred as Jongin as if he was the one who’d just been kissed by the borderline insane, four-armed, three-eyed doctor. 

“We’ll— _ good Gods _ —talk later, Lay,” Jongin finally said after the eternity it took him to remember what it felt like to think. Lay was always exhausting but this was a whole new level. He walked back to the ship as if he was in a daze. Baekhyun offered no support as he was too busy continuing to laugh. “It wasn’t that funny.”

“Are you kidding? It was fucking hilarious!” Baekhyun blurted, clutching his stomach. “You just stood there for the longest time and near the end, you  _ hugged back!  _ Jongin, you beautiful, stupid moron,  _ please  _ never change.”

Storm clouds gathered over Jongin’s head. “I’m resetting your personality chip while you sleep.”

Baekhyun whacked the back of his head. Behind them, Chanyeol was closing the ship doors as Lay waved goodbye enthusiastically. To be polite, Jongin waved back weakly. “Nice job telling me your plan, dimwit.”

“Maybe telling you the plan was a part of the plan.”

Baekhyun’s stare was inquisitive. “You don’t even have the brain capacity for planning.” Jongin returned the look, ten times harder. As soon as Baekhyun cracked, the corner of his lip upturning, they both broke into each other’s arms.

“Y’wanna know the worst part?” Jongin asked the android, his stomach cramping from the pain. “He wasn’t the worst kisser.”

“HA!” Baekhyun slapped his hands over his face. “I won’t believe it until I try it… and I’ll die before I kiss anything with four arms.”

“Your loss,” Jongin giggled.

Chanyeol cleared his throat and Jongin remembered he was there. “Are we… heading to Kronos Avenue right away?”

“Oh yeah. That shit.” Jongin rubbed his temples, still not fully recovered from his laughter fit. It hurt to keep it all down, but Chanyeol looked uncomfortable enough as it was. Jongin would hate for him to think he was laughing at him. “Sure. Why not? But if she’s not there, I’m boutta be  _ very  _ unhappy.”

Chanyeol nodded, looking up from his watch. “Following intergalactic speed limits, RITA says it’s an eleven hour ride.”

“Spectacular. I sure did miss breathing stale air for hours on end,” Baekhyun grumbled, rubbing his neck.

“You’re free to step out while I get the ship ready,” Chanyeol offered innocently.

“And get eaten by a snake?” Baekhyun scoffed. “I’d rather complain.”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t even be worth it. You’d taste like shit,” Jongin mumbled just loud enough to make sure Baekhyun heard.

“Are you saying that because I’m an android? You should know that’s very  _ androidist  _ of you.”

“There’s no godsdamn way that’s a thing.”

Baekhyun feigned offense, one hand against his heart, the other against his lips. “So now you’re trying to erase hundreds of years of android oppression at the hands of your kind? How dare you?!”

“You’re code and metal, Baek. You were made to—”

“I know where you’re going, and I’m not gonna let you.”

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do?”

~

“Do you think they noticed we left?”

Chanyeol glanced back from where he came. He couldn’t see them anymore, but he heard Jongin and Baekhyun’s laughter clear as day. “I doubt it. They’re in their own world sometimes.”

“I’ve never seen two people talk so much, especially an android.”

“Baekhyun’s just special, I suppose.”

“Special? Try ‘glitch in the system’.”

Chanyeol chuckled. “They’re funny.”

“That’s one way to put it.” Kyungsoo slid the cockpit doors open. “Also, we can’t  _ not  _ discuss Lay. I’m still trying to figure out whether or not I was dreaming.”

“I agree with you there,” Chanyeol said, settling into his chair as he entered the coordinates given to them. RITA asked some questions about autopilot, music, and arrival alerts. Once answered, there was pure silence in the room again. “I knew someone in his profession was bound to be weird, but that was completely something else.”

“Definitely,” Kyungsoo hummed as he dropped into his chair. “It’s like Jongin was hired because Lay needed Ying Yue back, not because he wants her.”

Chanyeol shrugged. “Psychoanalyzing a man like that will bring you down a dark hole.”

“Is that so?” Kyungsoo leaned forward, elbows on his knees and smirking. “Then let’s talk about how pissed you got when the doctor kissed the Moon Elf.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“ _ Yes,  _ you do,” Kyungsoo said in a teasing tone. “You were like a child who just got his favorite toy taken away. Angry pout, clenched fists, red cheeks. I  _ saw  _ you. Don’t try and deny it.”

Kyungsoo was a master at reading his faces so Chanyeol tried to keep his as blank as possible. “I just… he kissed him without asking. I didn’t like that.”

“Oh, aren’t you sweet?” Kyungsoo cooed. “But you’re also a liar.”

Chanyeol groaned, throwing his head back. “Why do you care anyway?”

“Because I like when you have a crush! I feel like a proud mom.”

Chanyeol glared at him even though he knew full well that would have no impact. “Even if I did have a crush, which I refuse to admit to you at the moment, that doesn’t mean anything.” Chanyeol pulled up a map that showed their location and their destination as a red blinking dot. It gave him something to look at apart from Kyungsoo. “I don’t have time for a relationship. Not until Julian is dead, that is.”

“Shit. This again.”

“I’m serious! I won’t be able to enjoy it to the fullest until I kill him.” Chanyeol stared at his feet. “I owe that much to my younger self.”

Kyungsoo’s lips thinned. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I got carried away.”

“It’s all good. You don’t have to apologize.” Chanyeol got increasingly quieter as he spoke, his gaze never leaving his boots. It was a good thing Kyungsoo knew how to take a hint. He looked at his battery levels through the screen on his wrist. 74%.

“Hey… I’m gonna go charge. I’m almost dead.”

Chanyeol was already too far gone to know he was lying. “Cool. See ya soon.” He heard—didn’t see—the process of Kyungsoo leaving. Light footsteps, the grating of the door sliding in its grooves, and light footsteps again that kept getting lighter until Chanyeol knew he was alone. He let himself relax, releasing a slow exhale that he felt as if he’d been holding ever since Lay first hugged Jongin.

It was weird. It really was. The way Chanyeol felt as he had the  _ right  _ to dislike another man’s hands on Jongin because he didn’t. He didn’t have the right. They weren’t friends. They were barely acquaintances.

Jongin was just pretty.

So very, very,  _ very  _ pretty.

He was pretty like a flower or the glaze of morning dew on grass at dawn. He was pretty like no other boy or girl Chanyeol had ever seen before. He was the type of pretty that made Chanyeol want to smile whenever he set eyes on him.

Jongin was a dangerous type of pretty.

When Chanyeol thought of all the opportunities for a nice, loving relationship that he gave up in favor of pursuit of Julian, he got a little sad. He met a Venusian girl a few years back that had him wrapped around her delicate fingers. He thought, sometimes, if he gave up his pride and forgot about Julian, he’d be settled down already. He’d have a home, children, a loving spouse… everything he’d ever wanted.

But Chanyeol didn’t think about that Venusian girl during the gentle, fragile hours of the night. He didn’t because he was too busy thinking about Jongin.

His ivory hair and blue tipped ears. His skin that sparkled when the light hit it. His body that moved with the grace of a dancer even as he did nothing more than walk. His lips that resembled petals of a tulip in bloom whether he was smiling, frowning, or putting a gun up against Chanyeol’s neck. 

That was what Chanyeol thought of when sleep wouldn’t come to him.

But he didn’t dream of all that.

So he’d live with it.

No one was worth giving up on Julian until he dreamed of them. And no one would ever fit that description because Chanyeol never dreamt. 

~

Baekhyun shut himself down to preserve energy. They were still a ways away from Kronos Avenue, and his batteries were a hair’s width away from dying. Jongin disliked the silence as he sat in his room’s bed beside Baekhyun’s terrifyingly still and silent body. There was no way he would be able to have a peaceful sleep beside him so he pulled Chanyeol’s borrowed sweater tighter around his body and set off to find something to fill the horrible silence.

His feet brought him toward the cockpit before he realized it wasn’t the best idea.

The last time, he arrived upon invitation. That didn’t mean he had clearance whenever he desired. If he entered unwanted, the awkward aura that  _ just  _ disappeared from the ship would return with a vengeance. 

Jongin stood dumbly outside the slightly ajar door, shifting his weight from side to side, chewing on his lip.

Chanyeol liked him… right?

If he liked him, how bothered could he possibly be?

The worst that could come of it all would be a simple ‘I kinda want to be alone right now.’

… right?

Jongin inhaled deeply and wrapped his fingers around the edge of the door, pulling it open. “Hello?” he called out lightly. Chanyeol’s head was peaking above the chair again so Jongin watched it in nervous anticipation.

“Jongin?” Chanyeol’s head turned slightly. “I thought you were sleeping.”

“Tried. Couldn’t.” His lips thinned. “Can I come in?”

“Um… yeah, of course. By all means.” Chanyeol gestured to the chair next to him like there was any other option. “How do the clothes fit?”

“Good, thank you.” They were a little loose, but that was a petty complaint. Chanyeol noticed he’d been wearing the same circulation of two outfits for the past few outings and without prompting, offered some of his old items. It was so kind, Jongin almost cried. He’d never met a man like Chanyeol. Hearts pure as his were as rare as buried treasure, and Jongin had just about convinced himself good people were an urban legend. Chanyeol made it seem like things, no matter what, would turn out okay. “Are you sure you don’t need them?”

“No. You look better in them anyway.”

Jongin stiffened, his breath stopping in his throat. “O-Oh.” He waited for Chanyeol to backtrack, to flush fiercely and blame it all on a slip of the tongue, but he continued to stare ahead, content. Jongin smiled. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Chanyeol moved his hair off his forehead and it fell right back into place. “I wish I was an android sometimes. They don’t have to worry about buying clothes or wearing what’s in season. All they need is a personality chip and they can enjoy life like a normal, conventionally attractive being.”

Jongin scoffed, crossing his legs. “Tell me about it. I wouldn’t let Baekhyun hear you speaking like that, though. He’s quite adamant on the fact that he has it just as hard as the next person.”

“They’re funny things, those androids. Then again, I don’t know where I’d be without Kyungsoo.”

“Mhm.” Chanyeol was yet to meet his eye as they talked, but that was no problem to Jongin. He stared unashamedly. Saturn, as they flew over her, had nothing on Chanyeol’s supple cheeks and the slight bump of his nose. “I like to think that I don’t need him, but I’d be dead without Baekhyun. I’m 100% sure about that.”

Jongin stifled a gasp when Chanyeol’s eyes met his suddenly. He held a breath, silently hoping and praying that he didn’t realize he’d been staring. “Are you thirsty?” he asked. “I’m craving tea.”

Jongin allowed himself to relax. Even if Chanyeol did know he’d been staring, he was too kind to make him feel bad about it. “Not terribly, but I’ll try some.”

“You’ve never had?” asked Chanyeol as he rose to his feet. He offered Jongin his hand. It wasn’t like he needed assistance in standing up, but he gratefully accepted the assistance nevertheless. 

“Earthen tea? No, not that I recall. I’ve definitely heard of it, though.”

“I feel so honored to be the one showing you all these new things.”

Chanyeol didn’t let go of Jongin’s hand as they walked to the kitchen. He looked at their fingers intertwined together like ropes. Chanyeol’s were slender but strong. His skin was callous to the touch, but not at all uncomfortable. His first instinct was to pull away because his soft feel was not one Jongin had grown accustomed to. He hated himself for that. He’d always known that he was the only thing standing in between himself and his own happiness, but this was the first time he’d caught himself in the act.

Jongin gulped. Against all better judgement, he forced himself to keep his hand the way it was.

Chanyeol let go first in favor of opening up the cupboards of the kitchen. Jongin watched him pick a glass jar filled with many tiny plastic bags as he sat down.

“Okay, we’ve got earl grey, chamomile, jasmine, hibiscus--”

“I don’t know what any of that means,” Jongin said, shrugging. “I’ll have your favorite.”

“Alright. White jasmine it is, then.” He pulled two mugs down. Jongin couldn’t exactly say what he was doing as some of the tools he used were unfamiliar to his vernacular, but he liked seeing him do it. Chanyeol’s rough hands were gentle and worked without hesitation. “My mother and I used to drink tea together every Saturday morning,” he said, breaking the silence, but it was welcome. Jongin liked listening to him talk. “She collected all sorts of flavors. Whenever we tried a new one, she’d write down my thoughts and opinions. We always ended the time together with white jasmine, though. It was always best with the honey we got from her beehives in the backyard, but… store bought is almost as good.”

Chanyeol placed the tea kettle on the stove. With his hands free, he seemed to brace himself against the counter, like he needed the support to stand. Jongin stood up, concerned. “Are you…”

“I’m… I’m sorry, I’m fine.” He didn’t sound like it. “I-I don’t talk about her often, so I… I don’t know where that came from… sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Jongin figured to step closer would be a breach of the space Chanyeol seemed like he needed. “It helps to not keep it bottled up, sometimes.” He’d always known the Earthen had some secrets he’d rather keep in his past. That was half the reason Jongin felt so drawn to him. This was still the last place he expected any of those secrets to reveal themselves in, though, and he knew Chanyeol felt the same. “I’ll listen if you wanna keep talking.”

“I know… I know, thank you, but I’m not--I’m not necessarily ready.” Chanyeol came to the table with two mugs, setting one before Jongin. He was doing his best to keep his face plain, but Jongin saw struggle.

“O-Oh. That’s totally alright, I--”

“I want to tell you, Jongin.” Chanyeol’s eyes met him and it felt like it was the first time ever. The contact was intense, determined. It made Jongin straighten in his seat, putting himself at full attention. “I  _ will  _ tell you. Soon, I promise.”

Jongin laughed nervously, not knowing what else to do. That being a bad idea only became realized after the act. “You don’t have to force yourself. If you really don’t want to tell me--”

“No, no, I do. I do.”

Jongin’s nose scrunched in confusion. “Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why me? Why do you want to tell me?”

Chanyeol didn’t answer right away, taking some time to think through his answer. Jongin allowed him that, watching as he blew over the surface of his tea but refrained from taking a sip. “I could be wrong, but… I think we come from similar places.” He touched the back of his neck, pressing his fingers into muscle. “Neither of us tend to work with people because we’ve both been hurt by them, but… but we tolerate each other for that same reason.”

Jongin was starting to put the pieces together, building the puzzle of the secret Chanyeol was keeping. He didn’t say anything for he didn’t want to put him on the spot, but it was enough for him to agree with what was being said. “Alright. I understand.”

Chanyeol smiled. “I knew you would.” He stood up abruptly. “We can take these back to the cockpit, if you’d like. Comfier chairs there.”

“A-Ah.” Jongin picked up his mug, the clay warm to the touch. Chanyeol offered his hand again, and same as the last time, he didn’t need the assistance but took it anyway. 

Inside the cockpit, Chanyeol kept stacks of blankets. He revealed that he spent many nights there instead of his own room. He wrapped one around Jongin’s shoulders before sitting down and draping his across his lap. Jongin sat down next and pulled his knees to his chin. They sat in silence, enjoying the tea, watching the stars and the ships. It was far from awkward. It was almost therapeutic. Jongin couldn’t remember the last time he felt so… calm. Not even when he was sleeping did he feel like this. 

“What’s your plan after you find Ying Yue?”

Though it was a change in the tranquility, Chanyeol’s gentle voice was hardly a break of it. The mug in Jongin’s hands was empty now, but the clay was yet to cool so he kept a firm grasp around it. “Give her back to Lay, collect my money, and then… wait. I live mission to mission, after all.”

“This bounty is bound to set you up for life. Do you ever plan on stopping?”

“That’s a good question,” Jongin chuckled breathily. “I do missions to keep myself busy. I don’t think a day in which I’ll be satisfied sitting around and doing nothing will ever come.” He sniffed, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. “What about you?”

“I guess it’s safe to say that I’ve planned every part of my life up until the moment I kill Julian, but… there’s not much after that. I always assumed it would be a lifelong chase, and if it didn’t end in his death, it would end in mine.” Finally finished, Chanyeol put his mug on the floor. “But I feel close to some sort of… closure, if that makes sense. Closer than I’ve ever felt.”

“Good. That’s good.” He was getting sleepy. Maybe it had something to do with the soothing properties of the tea. “Gives me a little bit of hope to hear of yours.” Jongin didn’t want to go to bed yet despite his heavy eyelids. He wanted to keep talking with Chanyeol about everything and nothing at the same time. “I think about going home after all this sometimes. To see my family.”

“You sound like that scares you.”

“Oh it does. It terrifies me down to my very core.” Jongin looked off into the stars. He was far out of his league and none of the shapes were familiar to him. But by  _ Hecate _ were they beautiful. When he thought of the countless other nebulas and galaxies hidden in the endless black, he couldn’t help but smile. Space had always mystified him in the best way possible. It held the secrets of the Gods unanswerable by humans. Jongin thought it was insane that there were people who chose to live their lives on one planet when there was so much more out there.

People like his parents. 

“Do you think it’s possible for someone to hate their child?”

Chanyeol was silent for a beat or two. It wasn’t like Jongin could expect an answer to a question like that right away. “Wow,” he said, clearing his throat into his fist. “Um… no, I don’t think it is. Maybe-Maybe I’m wrong but… I think it’s tough to look at a being that you carried and raised from helplessness to adulthood and hate them. Dislike is entirely likely, but hate? No. No, it’s the job of a parent to love their child no matter what. If they can’t do that, they’re not worthy of being called parents, then.”

Chanyeol made up an answer as he spoke. Adding on details here and there, but it was honest and it made sense. A parent can’t hate their child, but for some reason… Jongin felt like an exception. 

“Sandstorms are rare on Luna, but they’re never a sign of anything good.” Jongin hadn’t planned on storytelling this sleepless night, but now that he started, he felt as if it would kill him to stop. Chanyeol’s gaze on him was strong. Attentive. Encouraging. “I was born during one. Mom couldn’t leave the house to go to a hospital so she had to have me in the bathtub. I think… I think growing up, they always expected me to be trouble so I figured I might as well live up to their expectations. I slept around, got into fights, skipped school. Undoubtedly, I was the problem child. I looked especially horrible beside my sisters who graduated top of their classes in school and pursued high paying jobs.”

“I came home late one day because I broke up with my boyfriend. Looking back, it’s probably generous to call him that. He was thirty seven and I was fifteen.” Jongin chewed on his nail. So many years later, there still wasn’t much of that man he could forget as much as he wished he could. Handsome, wealthy, strong… packed a real punch when he swung. No one knew that better than Jongin. “Not to mention I was only ‘dating’ him because I knew it would piss my parents off. Anyway… he wasn’t a big fan of the idea. Beat me black and blue. I was lucky he didn’t kill me and that I was still able to walk home on my own. My parents were waiting in the living room even though they had work early the next morning.”

Jongin paused lightly to make sure Chanyeol was listening. He didn’t mind talking to a wall and fully expected to as well, but he just wanted to know. Beside him, everything about Chanyeol from his gaze to the way he turned his body said that he was hanging on every word. That was when Jongin realized he was crying. He wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand, finding them incredibly damp. Weakly chortling, he chose to continue.

“‘We’re not angry,’ they told me. ‘Please don’t throw away your life like this, Jongin’. They were just looking out for me. They so obviously loved me, but I was so caught up in myself that I got angry. I told them I hated them and my biggest fear in life would be to live the life they wanted me to.” Jongin made an effort to erase many of his childhood memories, but waking up with his father every day before the Sun as a small child was always on the back of his mind. He’d sit on the counter as his dad made coffee and eggs. His mother would come down an hour later for breakfast. They’d kiss, she’d kiss Jongin, and they’d go into the routine they performed everyday without fail.

Eat breakfast, shower, go to work, come home, make dinner, go to bed. Repeat.

It was monotonous, like being imprisoned.

Jongin was never able to understand how they willingly  _ chose  _ to live a life like that until it was too late. There was comfort in routine, one that he feared he would never know. 

“They said nothing and sent me to my room. Hours later, I thought they went to bed so I went downstairs for something to eat, but they were still there. Mom was crying like I died, and I might as well have. The next day, I left for school before anyone woke up, just to avoid an awkward breakfast. On the walk… I see a ship for sale. 9,000 coins. I stole around 13,000 from my ex before I broke up with him. It just felt so… right. I mean, it was probably the concussion, and concussions never mix well with teenage angst. I bought the ship. I went home because I knew it would be empty that time of day, packed a bag, broke open the piggy bank, and just… left. Just like that.”

“Shit,” Chanyeol murmured. “That’s… that’s…” he scratched his head. “I’m sorry, I got nothing.”

“‘S alright,” Jongin laughed, reaching across to pay his shoulder. “That feels so fucking good to say. Hecate, it’s like I lost a hundred pounds.” He threw his head back, holding his neck tightly. Baekhyun knew a few details about his past, but he never told the story from the very beginning.

“How did you get Baekhyun?”

“Oh Gods.” Jongin smiled nervously. “It’s, um… he was a gift.”

“A gift?”

Jongin inhaled and exhaled deeply. As if the first part of his story wasn’t hard enough to tell as it was, the second part just made this worse. Chanyeol waited patiently. “I didn’t get into bounty hunting right away. I couldn’t possibly. I… I ended up on Venus. Probably because it was close and Earth is as hard to get into as it is to leave. Not to mention I grew up hearing that Martians were tough, horrible people, so Venus seemed like my best bet. I met another older man there. Took me under his wing right away. He was a bad guy, but I was okay with that.”

“He kept me clothed and fed. I feel like I should be thankful for that at the very least. I knew what I was doing when I agreed to be with him. I told myself I wasn’t stupid and I was having new  _ adventures  _ everyday. I wasn’t bored, but I would lie awake some nights and just think… was this really all I was meant to do? Was there a chance I could be someone better? It’s just… when you’re young, life can be anything because you’re stupid and hopeful and everything is beautiful. I was so positive that I was going to be  _ happy,  _ and I wasn’t. For years, it wasn’t that I couldn’t leave. It was simply that I was scared if I went out again, if I took another chance, I’d just fail again.”

“I made up my mind somewhere in between getting Baekhyun for being ‘good’ and my ‘boyfriend’ ashing his cigarette in my drink.” Jongin was forced to drink it after. He still remembered the taste. The hot ash mixed with bitter alcohol Jongin didn’t even like in the first place. “I knew I didn’t deserve much, but I deserved more than that. So… I took Baekhyun, transferred three million coins from his bank account to mine, and set off for better once more. Took me a helluva long time to realize I was more than my body, but I did it. Fucking hell, he said I never would, but I  _ did. _ ” Feeling himself getting worked up, the knot in his throat both tightening and enlarging, he paused briefly. “I… made a name for myself, and I-I am genuinely satisfied with my life now.”

“But…?”

Jongin was yet again astounded that Chanyeol was still attentive. Attentive enough to ask for more, nonetheless. “But I regret the state in which I left my family sometimes. None of them deserved what I did.”

“You were a kid. You didn’t know any better.”

“Maybe.” Jongin stretched his legs in front of him as they’d been curled up for too long now. His knees popped in a satisfying manner. “But I’m an adult now, and I still can’t own up to my mistakes.”

Chanyeol shook his head. “You’re still young. You’ve got plenty of time to grow.”

“Thank you,” Jongin whispered, playing with the tips of his hair. “Thank you for listening. I’m sorry that I unloaded all this on you, I--”

“Don’t apologize.” Chanyeol’s smile was nothing short of contagious. “Thank  _ you  _ for confiding in me. You’re very brave for that.”

Jongin stared at him for a bit, eyes narrowed comically. “I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that someone like you exists.”

“Someone like me?” Chanyeol scoffed. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“I think so,” Jongin said, laughing into his hand. “You’ve got such a good heart, Chanyeol. It stuns me everytime I’m reminded of it.”

The Earthen shrugged. “I don’t think it’s that remarkable. After spending my whole life being looked down upon, I know how bad it feels enough to hesitate before I do it to someone else.” Chanyeol suddenly reached across the distance and grabbed Jongin’s hands. “Don’t start selling yourself short either. You’ve been through so much and despite the fact that you have every right to be, you’re not vengeful.”  _ Unlike me,  _ Chanyeol thought. “I think that’s beautiful.”

“Beautiful?”

“Beautiful.” His hands felt very different all of a sudden as they cupped Jongin’s face and tipped it up. It was like he could sense every groove, every bump of bone, and every involuntary twitch. Through his clement hold, Jongin felt Chanyeol’s nervousness. His pain. His serenity that overpowered everything else. “You’re beautiful.”

Jongin held Chanyeol’s wrists and closed his eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered though he hated how lame it was. He wanted to say something that matched the eloquence of both Chanyeol’s verbal and body language, but his mind was blank. “Thank you,” he repeated, moving his face slightly in the other’s hold and kissing his palm. It was the right move, Jongin realized as soon as he did it.

“I think… I think…” Chanyeol said, looking up as Jongin moved his hands and stood up. “I think I like you.”

“I figured.” Jongin was never one to be coy. When he saw something or someone he wanted, he took the chance. Though Chanyeol made his heart flutter and his stomach jump like no man ever could, he was strong enough to keep himself from turning into a blushing mess. He intertwined his fingers with Chanyeol’s and tentatively slid his knees on either side of Chanyeol’s thighs until he was hovering over his lap. “I think I like you too.”

“Well… that’s perfect, isn’t it?” Chanyeol unlocked one of his hands and coaxed Jongin’s hips down with a touch to the small of his back. “You nearly knocked the breath out of me the first time I saw you, y’know? There was a gun pointed at my chest, and all I could think about was,” he pressed a thumb against Jongin’s bottom lip, parting it from the top, “how much I wanted to know how it felt to kiss these.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

“Then do it.”

“I’m allowed?”

Jongin laughed. “No, I’m on your lap because I  _ don’t  _ want you to kiss me.”

Chanyeol pulled their faces close with a firm hold on the back of his neck. His lips were half way to chapped but fleshy and sweet like floral tea. Jongin surrendered to him the control he was asking for, moaning softly and tugging at the black locks that he’d been dying to know if they were as fluffy as they looked. They were. Like the coat of a well-groomed puppy.

“A-Ah…”

Jongin unlaced his fingers right away. “Sorry. Too hard?”

“No,” Chanyeol murmured. “Felt good. I was just surprised.”

Chuckling, Jongin slotted their lips back together, his hands finding home in Chanyeol’s hair once more. With permission, he pulled whenever he felt so inclined. Like a built in reaction, Chanyeol would grunt into the kiss and tighten his hands around Jongin’s waist. It was all the more incentive to keep it up. 

“How many hours until we land?” Jongin asked, his lips throbbing bittersweetly. He was tired now, but it felt too good to stop without an excuse. 

“Enough,” Chanyeol said before starting to go right back in. Feeling guilty, Jongin pressed his hand against his mouth, guarding it. “What’s up?” He looked up at him with big, dark eyes, pitifully cute like Jongin just deprived him of something they hadn’t been doing for the past half hour.

“My lips are gonna fall off if we keep this up any longer.” Chanyeol pouted and Jongin pecked it away. “That doesn’t mean that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy this because I did.”

“What do you wanna do then?”

His eyes glittered and Jongin couldn’t help but laugh again, lightly tapping his nose. “Not tonight. Aren’t you tired?”

“Not anymore.”

Jongin felt thoroughly spent as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Chanyeol was warm like a furnace and just as comforting as one. “We’ve got quite the adventure ahead of us on Kronos Avenue. It’d be smart to go into that well rested.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Jongin brushed his knuckles against Chanyeol’s face. His scars were healing nicely, and it made him all the more a marvel to look at. “Then don’t. But I’m gonna.”

“Here?”

Snuggling his face into Chanyeol’s nape, Jongin exhaled slowly. He could feel his pulse quickening and his breath catching on nothing. “Here,” he whispered. “Is that alright?”

Jongin heard Chanyeol gulp, but his hands were anything but nervous as they hugged him closer and draped the previously discarded blanket over the both of them. Sleep came especially easy with Chanyeol’s fingers playing in his hair. He was almost unconscious when Chanyeol’s answer hit his ears in a dreamy and dazed tone. “‘S perfect.”

~

“We’ll cover more ground splitting up.” When Baekhyun awoke from his scheduled shut down, he could barely stand. He had slightly more than an hour before he died. The good thing was that they landed on Kronos Avenue, the bad thing was that Jongin had no idea where to find the batteries. “You try and find something about Julian.” Jongin slung Baekhyun’s limp arm over his shoulder. His mechanics and wiring were a lot heavier than they looked. “I think we’ll just slow you down.”

Chanyeol pursed his lips. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I think so,” Jongin said, shrugging to the best of his ability. “Gods, it is hot here.”

Lay wasn’t understating when he said Kronos Avenue was a horrible and disgusting place. Everything in sight was strangely yellow, like the bleached sand on the ground somehow reflected on every little stand selling discontinued android weapons and the occasional odd limb. Jongin wasn’t a fan, and if it was up to him, he wouldn’t be returning on his own volition.

“Okay, if you say so.” Chanyeol glanced down at his watch, his expression still unsure. “Come back here in half an hour. That should be more than enough time.”

“Roger that.” Jongin grunted as he readjusted Baekhyun. The android whimpered softly, and Jongin reminded himself to be more gentle. “See ya soon.”

It was funny, really, the way vendors sold an incredible amount of technology that turned androids into weapons, but absolutely no batteries. Ten minutes into Chanyeol’s thirty limit, he got nothing except horrible amounts of sweat. “For Hecate’s sake, why the hell are you so heavy?” 

“Not m’fault,” Baekhyun slurred, leaning further into Jongin.

“Didn’t say it was,” Jongin grumbled. He could only imagine what a fool he looked like, dragging around another person, going at a snail’s pace. Whenever he passed by someone laughing, he could only assume they were laughing at him. “Still gonna blame you for it anyway.” He shouldn’t have suggested splitting up. Chanyeol would take Baekhyun without even asking first.

“Alright.” Jongin trudged up to the nearest stall where an android and her owner were browsing chips. “Hello,” he said through clenched teeth to the woman behind the counter. “Do you have android batteries?”

_ Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes. _

“We do,” she answered and Jongin could’ve kissed her. “How many do you want?”

“Four.” With two extra, he hoped he would never have to do this again. 

“That’ll be one thousand coins.”

Of fucking course it would. With the obvious and almost dead android hanging from his shoulder, he would’ve been surprised if he wasn’t overcharged. The woman was lucky he was desperate. Jongin bit back a groan and pulled out his account code and held it towards her. “Thank you,” he said. “Do you mind if I put them in here? I don’t have much time.”

“I don’t care.”

The woman moved on to her next set of customers. Jongin moved a tray of chips to the other side of the table and manhandled Baekhyun to sit on top of it. “You owe me so bad,” he hissed, unscrewing the plate on the bottom of his foot while trying to keep him upright at the same time. As soon as he got it off, he caught a flurry of straw toned hair in the corner of his eye. 

“What the… ”

A young girl around thirteen years old was running through the crowds of the avenue, waist length locks billowing behind her. She was painfully familiar, but Jongin was afraid his brain was making things up. If only he found the batteries about five minutes earlier, Baekhyun would know. He’d know from the back of her head. But at the moment, he was about as useless as a brick.

Then again, if that was Ying Yue… 

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” The moment he removed his support from Baekhyun’s back, he tumbled off the other side of the table, hitting the sand with a resounding thud. All eyes in a close radius turned to him, and he heard the vendor screaming, but he was already running as fast as he could. In the few precious seconds he lost thinking, there was no telling how far Ying Yue went. “I’ll be right back!” he screamed to the air behind him. “I promise!”

Somehow, someway, Kronos Avenue was ten times more bustling than it just had been seconds ago. Jongin felt every single death stare burning into his back as he pushed people out of his way, chasing after the young girl he finally managed to catch up to. 

“Ying Yue!” he called out. “Ying Yue, wait, I’m a friend of your uncle’s! Uncle Lay!”

Thank the Gods, she paused, stumbling to a halt. It was her. It was Ying Yue.

“I found you.”

Her three eyes met his, he found them far more aged than those of a teenage girl’s should be. “Hello,” he said, closing the gap between them as carefully as he could. Jongin figured she’d suffered enough from strange men the past few weeks. The last thing he wanted to do was startle her. “My name is Jongin. I’m a friend of your uncle and I’m here to bring you back home.” He smiled. “How does that sound?”

Jongin didn’t expect immediate exclamations of joy or attitude, but the way she began to back away from him was as odd as it was unexpected. “I-I can’t.”

“What?”

“I can’t go with you. N-N-Not yet.” She trembled as she spoke. Jongin wanted to hold her, tell her everything would be alright, but her aversion to him was becoming more and more apparent.

“Why not, sweetheart? I’m sure your mom misses you… don’t you miss her?”

Ying Yue’s face pinched and her chin trembled. “H-He won’t let me.”

“Julian?” Jongin tried stepping closer, just one tiny step, but Ying Yue noticed it’s right away and moved back yet again. “Ying Yue, he’s not going to hurt you. I won’t let him. Just come with me—”

“Titan. He wants to meet you at Titan t-tomorrow tonight.”

And then she ran.

“No! Ying Yue!” Jongin scrambled to his feet, but he wasn’t fast enough. She was gone. Lost in the crowd.

“Fucking hell,” he grunted, pushing his sweat soaked bangs off his forehead. He truly thought he could get this done and over with, never having to face Julian, but apparently the man had other plans. He sent Ying Yue out as bait. Jongin was sure of it. He didn’t have a choice anymore. Either he walks right up to Julian’s door… or he leaves Ying Yue behind.

~

“You’ve done something real stupid fucking shit in your life.” Jongin found Chanyeol in the place they agreed to meet as he arrived ten minutes late. Baekhyun was hanging off his shoulder, weak and dusted in sand, but eyes significantly green as he charged to 100%. “But I think this takes the cake,” the android spat.

“Baek… I’m sorry, I—”

“Save it. As long as there is sand lodged into my grooves, I’m not talking to you again.”

Jongin bit down a smile. “I understand.”

“So…” Chanyeol began, suppressing a laugh of his own. “What happened?”

“I saw Ying Yue.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I-I was changing Baekhyun’s batteries when I saw her, and I… I couldn’t let her go.”

“Where is she then?” Baekhyun asked like his previous statement was already forgotten. Jongin knew he was in the wrong so he refrained from pointing it out.

“She wouldn’t come with me.” Jongin sighed. “I think Julian knows we’re here and made her tell me he wants to meet at some place called Titan.”

“Titan,” Chanyeol repeated, thinking as he scratched his chin. “Oh!  _ Titan,  _ it’s a casino that a very good friend of his owns. Everyone I talked to here said that if I want to find him, I should check there first.”

Jongin frowned. “I don’t wanna go.”

Baekhyun scoffed. “Then suck it up, bitch.”

“I mean… you shouldn’t have to if you don’t want to,” Chanyeol said, ignoring him. “But I’d really appreciate the help.”

The urge to regress to his childhood habit of stomping his foot and whining when he was upset got stronger everyday. Jongin opted for pouting instead. “… fine.” It’d be cruel to make Chanyeol do this all on his own just for the sake of his own comfort. “Fine. I’ll go.”

“Atta boy,” Baekhyun slurred. It had been awhile since his batteries died last, but Jongin remembered he got a little delirious somewhere in between 40% and 60%. “If I had guts… I’d be throwing them up right now.”

Chanyeol chuckled as he and Jongin exchanged glances. “I think we should take him back to the ship first.”

“I agree.” Jongin tried to ruffle Baekhyun’s hair and the android tried to bite his fingers off. “Gods, he can still manage to be a bitch at a time like this.”

“It’s actually quite respectable.” In a few swift maneuvers, Chanyeol had Baekhyun on his back. “Why the hell is he so heavy? Kyungsoo weighs like… half of this.”

He was so incredibly lucky Baekhyun was as out of everything as he was. Otherwise, Chanyeol would be in need of some major facial reconstruction surgery. 

“You’re asking the wrong person.” He jutted his chin in the direction of the ship. “Let’s hurry it up. Ying Yue is waiting.”

~

“Alright. Few things you should know about Julian. He likes plans and structure and hates surprises. If Ying Yue said he wants to see you tomorrow night, it’s safer for both her and us to wait until then.”

Jongin had low expectations for Titan based on the outside, but in actuality… it wasn’t half bad. The beaten down, defunct exterior masked an almost palatial interior. A disguise from law enforcement, most likely. “I don’t wanna just sit here and wait.” The shower wasn’t bad either, but he tried not to think too much of what previous habitants of the room might’ve done in it as he washed off all the sweat and sand.

“Why not?” Chanyeol asked, plopping down next to Jongin on the bed. “Ying Yue is a bargaining chip. She’ll be safe.” He placed his hand at the top of Jongin’s thigh. “And Julian will be dead tomorrow. His whole empire will crumble along with him. There’s nothing to feel guilty or worried about.” 

“A-Ah, Chanyeol,” Jongin muttered as the Earthen kissed and licked and nipped at his nape. 

“We’re in this nice hotel room above a popular casino. Until tomorrow night, we can have  _ fun. _ ” Chanyeol definitely made it sound appealing as he hiked Jongin’s leg up, maneuvering him atop his lap. “So… what do you say?”

Jongin cupped his face, his skin warming to his fingers. “It’s tempting,” he said while Chanyeol unbuttoned his pants. “Staying here. But… Julian is in the same building as you. I thought you’d be jumping at the opportunity to kill him.”

“A few weeks ago… maybe I would.” Jongin raised his arms to help Chanyeol to his shirt over his head. The cold air could not have been more welcome. “But he’ll be dead soon enough, and it’s more important to not make him mad than it is to find him. In the meantime… there’s someone else I’d much rather be spending my time with.”

“Oh?” Jongin smirked. “And who’s that?”

Chanyeol ran his hands through Jongin’s hair tenderly. “You, obviously.”

“I know,” chuckled Jongin. “I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“So you’re okay with this? If you’re not, we don’t have to--”

“I’m okay. I mean, if we have time to kill, why not?”

Chanyeol’s mouth twitched. “Gods, you’re unbelievable.” He dropped his head and shook it. “I’ve never had someone refer to sleeping with me as ‘killing time’, but I’ll take what I can get.” Quick movements put Jongin’s back on the plush bed sheets as Chanyeol hovered over him, his smile charmingly lopsided. “Right?”

“Right.” Jongin looped his arms around Chanyeol’s neck, pulling him and his lips closer. “I feel like I should say this, but it’s been a good couple of months since my last time. Do what you want with that.”

“Noted.” Chanyeol slipped Jongin’s pants all the way down his legs, kissing down them as he went, leaving him unclothed and cold. 

“I want this off,” Jongin said, pulling at the hem of Chanyeol’s t-shirt. He didn’t have to be told twice as he was swiftly tugging the flimsy fabric over his head. “You follow orders well.”

“You’re easy to follow,” Chanyeol whispered against his lips, breath catching as Jongin explored his torso with his hands. The material of most of Chanyeol’s wardrobe didn’t leave much to the imagination, but seeing his body in its full and bare glory was better than he thought it would be. The miles upon miles of pale skin with artistically placed monochrome tattoos was something Jongin couldn’t see himself getting tired of looking at. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Jongin said, biting between his defined pecs. Chanyeol’s skin marked easily, he realized, as if the fading bruise on his neck wasn’t tell-tale enough. 

“Am I?” Chanyeol chortled. “That means a lot coming from you.” He spread Jongin’s legs with hands on either of his ankles and settled between them. “The prettiest boy I’ve ever seen.”

“You flatter me.” Jongin was quickly warming. He didn’t have to see himself to know of the crimson that colored his cheeks and tips of his ears. “Do you have any lube?”

“If I answer honestly… will you hate me?”

Jongin’s eyes narrowed comically. “Depends.” Chanyeol’s expression was bashful as he retrieved a small, travel-size vial from his pants pocket. Forcing an indignant gasp, Jongin lightly whacked his shoulder. “You creep!”

“I was just being prepared!” Chanyeol laughed as he flinched away. 

“So you think I’m easy.”

“Oh, not at all.” Chanyeol flipped the cap off the bottle, and Jongin couldn’t tear his eyes off his fingers as he coated them in the lube. “You’ve gotta be one of the most complex people I’ve ever met. I mean, you’ve tried to kill me twice, and I can’t get you off my head no matter how hard I try. That’s weird, isn’t it?”

“I’m not really the best person to ask.”

Chanyeol laughed, nodding in agreement. “You ready?”

“I think so.”

“Don’t worry.” Chanyeol bent forward, fitting his face into Jongin’s neck. As one hand gripped his waist, the other lightly brushed against his hole, wetting it. “I’ll go slow.” The first finger slipped in and Jongin whined before he could think to stop himself. “Shh,” Chanyeol hushed. “You’re alright, you’re alright.” His hand threaded in Jongin’s hair and pulled in an attempt to distract him. “Does it hurt?”

“Mhm, a little.”

“Wanna stop?”

“No. Put another in.”

Jongin felt Chanyeol’s smile against his cheek. “You’re so pretty, baby,” he uttered as he did as he was told. Jongin’s whimper was smothered by Chanyeol’s lips on his. “So, so, so pretty.”

“Yeah?” Jongin hooked his legs around Chanyeol’s waist and hugged his neck. “Tell me more.” It wasn’t that Chanyeol’s fingers didn’t feel good. That wasn’t it at all. He was kind and gentle. His movements were contained as he refrained from doing anything that would startle Jongin too much. It wasn’t any fault of Chanyeol’s that Jongin’s similar memories were making his heart speed up and his skin glisten but not from pleasure. 

That didn’t change how much he wanted this. It had been years since his time on Venus and years since he’d been telling himself he was fully recovered. Chanyeol was the best person he could think of to truly help him leave that era of his life behind, he just… he didn’t think he could do it in silence.

“Greedy, greedy, greedy,” Chanyeol murmured into the little kisses he planted down Jongin’s chest. “To start, I adore your body.” He pushed a third finger in. Jongin bit down on his lip and arched his back. “Your reactions too. It’s like you’re untouched territory, and I’m the lucky bastard that gets to explore you.”

Jongin’s laugh turned into something like a gurgle when Chanyeol licked a stripe up to his tip. “That’s st-stupid.”

“You’re gonna correct me now?” Chanyeol licked around Jongin’s head, expertly circling the tip like he’d done this a million times. He probably had. Jongin fisted the bed sheets and moaned, bucking his hips up. “You’ve got better things to worry about.”

“Like what?”

“Like this.” Chanyeol took Jongin completely into his mouth. The ease in which he did it would be something Jongin would think about later on, but not then. Right then, in that moment, he was focused on how warm and wet Chanyeol’s mouth was. He bobbed his head as he continued to work his fingers, adding a fourth.

“You  _ bitch _ .”

For obvious reasons, Chanyeol offered no retort, but the vibrations around Jongin’s dick signaled a chuckle. “Stop wasting time. Just put it in already.”

“You’re too hasty,” Chanyeol said, coming up for air. “Enjoy this. Let me enjoy you.”

It had been awhile since Jongin was last splayed out beneath a man as vulnerable as he currently was. He had memories of all the other times… bad ones. He figured it would be the same way now, no matter how much he cared for Chanyeol. Preparations, then in, then out. Apparently, he had been mistaken. Chanyeol’s hands were on him like he was made of glass and diamond and everything precious.

It was unfamiliar.

It wasn’t what he was used to.

Jongin liked it. 

“Alright.” He allowed his head to fall into the pillows, relaxed. “Okay.” He put his hands in Chanyeol’s hair like he was guiding him despite the fact the Earthen knew exactly what he was doing and how he wanted to do it. “I can do that.”

Chanyeol let him come down his throat, and he did so with his eyes rolled halfway back into his head. “Good Gods, Jongin.” He sat up, retracting his fingers as he wiped his lips dry. Jongin whimpered at both the loss and the sight of Chanyeol’s muscles flexing in the dim light. “How can you be this beautiful?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“I’m not. Do you really not realize how stunning you are?”

Jongin looked up at him through hooded eyes. “You’re one to talk.” He extended his arms and invited Chanyeol closer with grabby hands. Laughing, he allowed Jongin to envelop him, pressing their sweat slicked bodies close as possible. “You’re absolutely perfect.”

Chanyeol kissed him, open mouthed and sloppy, like the experience he had on Jongin’s lower body disappeared. But he didn’t dislike it as he kissed back.

“I bet Venus is jealous of you.”

Jongin froze in his movements, only able to slap Chanyeol’s shoulder when he came back to his senses. “Take that back!”

Chanyeol scoffed, staring back at him in humored disbelief. “Why would I do that? It’s true.”

“Are you brain dead?” Jongin hissed, continuing to hit him. Lightly, but with enough force to get his point across. “Do you want me to wake up as a rose bush tomorrow? Take it back right now!”

Chanyeol began to laugh as he shook his head. “You’re so cute.” He returned to kissing Jongin’s neck, sucking love bites here and there. “But ugly. Horribly ugly. I bet Venus hates you because you’re that ugly.”

Jongin chuckled in between short moans. “Thank you. That’s better.”

Once Chanyeol deemed Jongin marked up to his satisfaction, he guided himself inside with one hand loosely wrapped around Jongin’ neck. The Moon Elf’s back curved off the bed with a strangled cry. “Fucking hell,” he said through gritted teeth. He already felt full, but when he looked down, Chanyeol still had a few inches to go. “You’re so big.”

“Ah, you’re too kind.” Chanyeol pressed in as far as he could go. Jongin’s lips fell open as he dug his nails into Chanyeol’s back. “Can I move?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jongin croaked. “Go slow.”

“Of course.” He hugged Jongin tightly as he began to move in and out in a steady cadence. His movements were small and seemingly effortless, but he was hitting all the right spots. It felt so good, tears were gathered in Jongin’s eyes. “You’re doing so good, baby,” he muttered into his ear. Chanyeol sounded as if he was holding back, and it was so unbelievably hot.

“You can go faster.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Chanyeol kissed the tears away from his cheeks. “Try not to wake anyone up.”

Jongin meant to humble him before he actually started to make good on his word. Chanyeol fucked like an animal. He had Jongin’s head banging against the headboard as he pressed his hands against his mouth. Jongin was relieved he stopped any of this from happening on the ship because if Baekhyun were to wake up and hear any of this, he would never let him live it down. Not to mention the thought of the looks Kyungsoo would throw him if he knew Jongin was fucking his almost-brother terrified him.

“Gods, you’re so tight,” Chanyeol growled, slowing his pace down. “I’m gonna come. Where do you want me to come?”

“I-Inside.”

“Wow. Really?” Chanyeol curled Jongin’s damp hair behind his ears. As if the Moon Elf wasn’t always pretty, his blissed out expression was on another level. “Are you sure?”

“I mean, why not?” Jongin was close to coming for the second time himself. “If we’re gonna do this, we might as well go all the way.”

“Holy fuck.” Chanyeol slammed his hips in, testing the waters after the small break. Jongin reacted like it was the first time, crying out as a new wave of tears streamed down his face. “You’re gonna be the death of me, Jongin. I think I’m in love with you.”

With a thick swallow, Jongin pretended he heard nothing. It was easy to admit he liked him, because he did, but love was different. Jongin had spent his whole life rejecting love. No matter how hard and long he thought back, he couldn’t recall a single moment in which he told even his parents that. He did, of course, but admitting it was a different story. Sometimes, Jongin just figured he wasn’t capable of that emotion, but deep down, he knew that wasn’t the truth. He had never considered himself worthy of love, and he didn’t know how to change that. Even if he did, he wondered if he actually would.

Chanyeol--kind, sweet, caring, and handsome Chanyeol--Jongin had hoped he would be different. He hoped it would be as easy to tell him he loved him as it was to tell him he liked him. Jongin didn’t feel like himself around him in the best way possible. Chanyeol made him feel not just good but like a good person. He assumed that if he kept spending time with the Earthen, he could become what he felt. He could be worthy of love.

Jongin was wrong, as it seemed. He tried, but he couldn’t say it back. Gods… he just hoped Chanyeol wouldn’t be offended. He acknowledged nothing and continued with what he was doing, filling Jongin up minutes later. He used his hand to bring the other to completion before finally pulling out. Come spilled from Jongin’s used hole and Chanyeol had to force himself to look away. They were both too spent to risk him getting aroused for a second time.

The next few motions passed like a montage. Chanyeol suggested a quick shower, and when Jongin tried and failed to stand, he carried him to the bathroom. They entered the shower together, but their bodies stayed separate. The air between them was strange, and Jongin was no longer seeing pink. His body ached, not horribly, and his tongue burned with regretted words. He left the bathroom as quickly as he could, a towel wrapped around his waist. Chanyeol came out to the main room moments later, towelling his hair dry as he looked at Jongin inquisitively.

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing.”

“I’m not stupid. I can tell you’re lying.” Jongin didn’t answer. He was too focused on keeping his eyes down and away from the water droplets cascading down Chanyeol’s body, stopping at the top of his low hanging sweats. “I can literally smell the regret coming off you. I’m not offended, but I’d like to know if you’re okay.”

Jongin massaged his temples. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Chanyeol? I mean,  _ seriously,  _ I’m so sick of this act. It’s so  _ fake. _ ”

“I don’t think I follow.”

“What if I did tell you that I regret sleeping with you, huh? O-Or that I don’t fucking love you back? What then? What would you do?”

“It’s your right to feel all of that. I don’t think getting angry will change anything.” Chanyeol shrugged. “Now, baby, why are you crying?”

Jongin touched his cheeks, feeling wetness, and crumbled forward, face pressed into his hands. “I don’t know.” His head pounded like his brain was trying to escape. Not that he blamed it. If he had the choice to not be sentient at the moment, he’d take it without batting an eye. “I don’t know.”

“That’s okay,” Chanyeol said. Jongin heard him coming forward, bare feet padding softly against the carpet. He crouched down and placed his hands gently on Jongin’s knees. “That’s fine. You don’t have to know.” He rubbed small circles into his skin, occasionally squeezing the soft flesh of his thighs. “Are you in any pain? Does that have anything to do with it?”

A raw sort of ache had been present in his lower back for some time now, but it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. Jongin couldn’t put his finger on the exact source of his tears, but he knew it was nothing physical. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Alright. We can cross that off the list then.” Chanyeol took a moment to think. “If you’d like some time to yourself, I wouldn’t mind checking into another room.”

Jongin stopped to consider that, but when he remembered where he was, the casino hotel of a close friend of Julian’s, he shook his head again. “No, that’s not it either.”

“Okay. You see how this is hard for me then, right? I feel like I’m running out of guesses here.” Chanyeol scratched his head and blew air into his cheeks. “Or am I… am I really the one upsetting you?” Jongin wished, again, that he could offer Chanyeol an answer. It was what he deserved, after all. But he just… couldn’t. He couldn’t honestly, to be more specific, and he was simply tired of lying. “If that’s the case, that’s fine, but… I’d rather it not be.”

When Jongin stayed silent for yet another handful of seconds, Chanyeol sighed with a deep frown. “Alright. I understand.” He stood up, tightening the drawstrings of his sweatpants as he walked to the other side of the only bed in the room. There was nothing defeated about his stance. Chanyeol was good at keeping his chin up, almost an expert. Jongin had seen him happy. He’d seen him composed and frantic, but he’d never seen him saddened. He was either the strongest person Jongin ever had the pleasure to meet, or he was hiding something.

“There never was a friend, was there?”

Chanyeol was seconds away from lying down and retiring incredibly early for the night, but he froze at Jongin’s question. “What do you mean?”

“When we first met… you said Julian took a friend of yours. That was a lie.” Probably one that was told so much it was good as true judging by the way Baekhyun’s sensors couldn’t tell. But a lie is a lie no matter how often it is repeated.

Chanyeol grew ten times more tired than he already had been in that moment. Dark circles seemed to form beneath his eyes as his head dropped lower than Jongin had ever seen it. His hair casted a mean shadow over the top half of his face, and Jongin questioned why he said such a thing in the first place. He always had the idea, he always knew Chanyeol was keeping something from him, but it was personal. It wasn’t anything he was bleeding out to know nor was it something he wanted to force out of him. 

“How’d you figure it out?”

Jongin gulped. “I don’t know. When you talked about your mother… you didn’t sound like someone who left her behind on purpose.” The memories of their talk over tea was fresh in Jongin’s head. “And you said something about us that I haven’t stopped thinking about. You said… you said we were drawn together because we were hurt in similar ways by similar people.” Jongin licked his lips nervously. “But that’s not important, you don’t have to--”

“No. No, I think it’s about time I tell you. Hopefully, I can get you to dislike me a little less along the way.”

“I don’t--”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to explain yourself.” Chanyeol pulled one leg to his chest and played with the hem of his pants, anxious to get his hands busy. “Julian was an Earthen once, though I don’t think he deserves to be called that anymore. While his empire was still growing, he and my mother were close. He truly loved her, I think. I mean, she was everything he ever wanted. Beautiful, demure, and desperate for any sort of companionship since her last boyfriend left her with a son and no support.” He sucked his teeth, voice becoming gruffer as he continued to tell his story. “She was a good woman and an even better mom. All she ever did was try and make me happy. She thought if she could finally buy me the action figures boys my age like to play with, she’d be doing her job and doing it well. She had no money, but Julian did. It seemed like a perfect match.”

“Surprisingly, I liked him a lot growing up. He was far more present than my real father who I can’t even recall the face of. Not to mention the way he would come home with gifts almost everyday. My mom didn’t know about what he did for a living, at least I like to think she didn’t. I, most definitely, had no idea. I still remember telling her that I wanted to be exactly like Julian when I was older over tea.” Chanyeol laughed darkly. “I realize the way she would always try to switch the subject whenever I said that now, but it went over my head then, unfortunately.”

Jongin knew where this was going. Though the details were new, he had expected a similar sort of story from Chanyeol for some time now. Nevertheless, he worked as hard as he could to offer the other the same type of undivided attention he was given.

“Things were good for a while until I was around… twelve, I think. I came home with a gold star on my math tests, and I wanted my mom to put it up on the fridge, but she was nowhere to be seen. Even now, I-I don’t really know what exactly went down that day at school. All I know is that things were normal that morning but then Julian was suddenly telling me that we were going on a trip.”

Jongin nodded along as Chanyeol spoke. He didn’t know what else to do. He was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to do anything anyway, but the way he was picking at stray threads of the bed’s comforter felt strangely inadequate. 

“He had my bags packed already. When I told him no and I refused to go anywhere without my mother, he said I’d see her soon if I listened to him. I just… I look back on that moment at least ten times a day, and everytime I find a better way I could’ve handled that situation apart from the way I took his extended hand and got on the ship with him.”

Chanyeol ran his hand through his hair, exhaling like he was in pain. “To make a long story short, Julian realized he was far too successful to stay on Earth and continue doing what he was doing. I think… I think he asked my mother to come with him, but she said ‘no’. I know for a fact that she would.” He shook his head. “Anyway, he wanted an Earthen. We’re as rare as they come, I guess, and it would’ve been easier to get me on a ship with him than it would be to snatch a random kid off the street.” 

“In some, strange, fucked up way… I think Julian truly cared about me. I was in his hold for almost five years, and though he came close a good couple of times, he never sold me.” Chanyeol was near to bubbling over in anger, his fists clenched at his sides and his jaw flexing in a way Jongin knew had to be uncomfortable. Jongin wanted to make it better, but he wasn’t sure how. “In some shape or form, I think he felt guilt. When I was seventeen and I realized I had had enough, I didn’t even have to escape. I kind of just… walked out, and he let me. I was young and stupid and hopeful so I tried to go back to my home on Earth. Maybe my mother wasn’t there, but her garden was and so were her beehives. I just… I wanted to take care of them, but Julian had been ten steps ahead of me for years. Apparently, I was a main suspect in my mother’s unsolved murder.” His voice broke, and Jongin’s heart suffered a pang. “The officers knew it wasn’t me so they let me go, but they made it clear that if I even thought of getting within a lightyear of Earth’s atmosphere, I would be arrested and most likely executed.”

And Jongin thought  _ his _ story was a lot to absorb.

Well…

Fuck.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Chanyeol said, and Jongin had to wonder about how easy he was to read. “It’s enough that you listened. Y’know, apart from Kyungsoo, you’re the only person in the entire galaxy to have heard this story.”

Jongin rubbed his nape. It didn’t seem inappropriate to say nothing even though Chanyeol said it was fine. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry I yelled at you. I-I was stressed, and I took it out on you, and--”

“I don’t need an apology from you either, Jongin.” Chanyeol was talking with a pleasant sort of tone. It was steady, never increasing in volume. It was nothing like the way he had just been speaking when his eyes weren’t locked with Jongin’s. “I spent five years of my childhood being treated as an object. I was screamed at almost daily and punished for things I hadn’t yet learned how to control. It’s okay to be angry and it’s okay to be hurt, but I learned that you get nowhere from taking that out on those around you. Especially those that mean no harm.” His gaze became dark. “All I want is Julian’s death. I did what I had to to get here, but I promised myself that after it was done, I’d wash the blood off my hands and live a normal life.”

Jongin scoffed absent-mindedly. “What the hell is a normal life?” Realizing, he slapped his hands over his mouth. “Wait, I’m sorry, I--”

Chanyeol laughed, waving his hand in the air. “It’s okay, Jongin. You don’t have to keep apologizing to me.” He stretched out along the bed, his hands beneath his head, long limbs putting his feet over the end. “But I’m not sure, to be completely honest. I think I’ll figure it out along the way. A family is a good start, I guess.”

A normal life. Huh. Jongin assumed a normal life was something similar to that of his parents. Marriage, stable jobs, kids. He looked at Chanyeol, the pink scar on his cheek and the one going through his eye, and couldn’t picture him fitting in in a boring office like the one his dad used to look at. He looked at his hands that held a gun with expertise and questioned whether a child would feel safe in them. 

Jongin knew he could be wrong. He’d been wrong more times than he had been right in his life. Chanyeol held him gentle enough. He spoke sweet words when Jongin was uncomfortable. Most importantly, he knew that he could yell and yell and yell, and Chanyeol would only smile back. 

He was kind and he was good.

Maybe he could be a fine father.

“Um, you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but… you’ve met Julian multiple times. Why haven’t you killed him already?”

“I wanted him to think that I’d forgiven him and we were friends so that it would hurt as much as possible when I finally killed him.” Chanyeol crossed his ankles and shrugged. “I kinda blew that, but it’s fine. As long as he ends up dead, it’ll all be worth it.”

Jongin nodded and the room fell silent. Not a bad sort of silence. It was welcome and serene. Chanyeol switched off the lamp, plunging them into darkness. It was earlier than he was used to sleeping, but they had a big day ahead of them. Extra rest would do them some good. Jongin removed the towel from around his waist and slipped into the covers, unashamed of his nakedness.

“Was it bad?”

“Hmm?”

“Was it actually bad like you said?” Chanyeol asked again. “Sex with me, I mean.”

Jongin laughed breathily. “No. I just tend to say stupid things when I’m angry or overwhelmed.”

“You wanted it, didn’t you? I-I didn’t--”

“Oh good Gods, no, Chanyeol. No. Not at all. I wanted it and it was good.”

“Just good?”

“Now you’re pushing it.” Chanyeol found him under the covers in the pitch black easily. He gripped Jongin’s waist and pulled one of his legs over his clothed hip. Jongin felt his face heat up right away. “What are you doing?”

“I want you close,” Chanyeol said, warm breath fanning over Jongin’s neck. “Is that alright?”

“‘S fine,” he replied, only able to manage a whisper. He was thankful for the lack of light because he knew he was blushing down to his chest, and barely anything happened. 

“G’night, Jongin,” Chanyeol muttered against his hairline. Jongin fell asleep nicely after that, pleasantly warm from the inside and out. 

~

As Jongin’s eyes fluttered open hours later, his body rested and ready for the day, he felt a gaze on the top of his head. It took a couple of seconds and hard blinks for him to come to his senses, but as soon as he did, he noticed the side of his face pressed against Chanyeol’s bare chest. Smiling, he put movement into his limp fingers and dragged the pads along the dips and grooves of his torso. “Good morning.”

“Mornin’,” Chanyeol murmured, scratching the top of Jongin’s head.

“How long have you been awake?”

“A few minutes, I think?”

Jongin chuckled. “And how long have you been staring at me?”

Chanyeol let himself be shocked before shaking his head, accepting that he’d been caught. “I hate how observant you are.” He continued to rub his slightly overgrown nails against Jongin’s scalp, and he was suddenly overcome with the strange urge to purr. “I had a dream about you.”

“Fascinating.” Jongin stretched his arms over his head and bent his back until stiff muscles and joints cracked and softened. Feeling Chanyeol watching him, he put on as subtle of a show as he could, extending bare legs over him. “How’d I look?”

“I don’t really remember,” he mused, running his fingers down Jongin’s shin thrown over his thighs. “But I woke up wanting to look at you as much as I could, so… beautiful, I think.”

Jongin’s limbs froze and tension returned as he felt heat erupt on his face. “Th… thank you.”

“‘S my pleasure.”

Jongin pulled his legs back to his own person and sat up. All of a sudden, Chanyeol’s warmth was as unbearable as it had been comfortable only a few moments ago. “What’s the plan until tonight?”

“Live? I don’t know, we can do as little or as much as you want.”

“I… this feels too easy.”

“Trust me,” Chanyeol said. “The moment you see Julian face-to-face, you’ll wish you hadn’t rushed things.” He threw his hand out lazily, catching onto Jongin’s elbow. “Lie here with me.”

Of all people, Chanyeol had the most right to be freaking out, frazzled and nervously eager. He’d modelled his whole life since he was seventeen around the upcoming night. His calm should’ve been enough to soothe Jongin’s nerves, but it wasn’t. He was thinking of all the things that could go wrong. None of his targets have been as powerful as Julian.

Chanyeol tugged lightly on Jongin’s elbow again, and he let himself be pulled on top of him. “If you’d like,” he mouthed again his collarbones. “I can take your mind off things.”

“You’re awful.”

“If you say so, baby.” Chanyeol attached his soft lips around Jongin’s nipple, suckling and nibbling at the bud. Jongin couldn’t help but release small and breathy moans. He should’ve known by now that when Chanyeol said he would or could do something, he meant it. “That feel good?”

“Gods, fuck you.” It was hopeless trying to pretend like every little thing about Chanyeol didn’t have an effect on him when his dick was hardening against both their stomachs as they spoke. 

Chanyeol laughed, softly pinching Jongin’s other nipple. “You’re so easy to tease.”

Jongin was tired. Not from sleep or lack of it. He was just… tired. He didn’t have it in him to keep suppressing the little noises Chanyeol was working out of him with experienced hands so he dropped his face into Chanyeol’s neck and allowed whatever he wanted. Jongin came first, the Earthen a few minutes after. There was nothing special about it, and Jongin was sure Chanyeol figured out something was wrong, attentive as always. He held Jongin close, saying nothing, and he was grateful for it.

Eventually, Chanyeol’s breaths became soft, and his arms were easy to break from.

Jongin pulled on the same clothes he shed last night. The same jeans he wore that fateful day on Pluto and a thin sweater previously owned by Chanyeol. The scent clinging to the fabric was as familiar as it was unnameable. Stronger than sweet, but pleasant and charming. Though there was nothing Jongin could compare it to confidently, it was unmistakably Chanyeol.

Sighing, Jongin shrugged on his jacket. It didn’t bring him the comfort he wished it had. The horrible truth was that Chanyeol knew better than he. When he said it was smarter to work on Julian’s schedule, Jongin knew he wasn’t lying. His words came from years and years beneath Julian’s thumb, and yet… he couldn’t bare to lounge in the room for one moment longer.

This was Jongin’s mission, after all. He was the one Lay was paying to both save Ying Yue and kill Julian. Perhaps he’d save the dying blow for Chanyeol because it was what he deserved, but Jongin was done following him around, obeying every order, heeding every instruction. 

Looking back, Chanyeol was beautiful as he slept, Jongin realized. Softly as he could, he brushed his overgrown hair from his eyes. The thin scars had faded into almost nothing, but Jongin knew that even if they hadn’t, he’d be no less stunning. “I’ll see you soon,” he whispered.

Jongin tucked his gun into the back of his jeans and pocketed his knife, too tired to be bothered with donning his holster. Prepared as he would ever be, Jongin spared one more glance at Chanyeol. He’d barely stirred. Jongin kissed his slightly parted lips even though he knew it was risky. He just couldn’t help himself. In nervous anticipation, he stood still and watched the sleeping man, and his mouth twitched into something like a delirious sleep smile. 

“Oh, Chanyeol…”

Soft, sweet, kind, and good Chanyeol. Though he’d been hurt far more than the average being, he had resentment and hate for only one person in the entire universe. He was not free of blame, but he’d done what he had to get justice for the childhood that was stolen from him.

Jongin… Jongin, well… Jongin chose to run from a family who loved him. A family who he knew would welcome him back with teary eyes and open arms. Yet he chose to get rich off stealing and slaughtering. Jongin decided, as he looked upon Chanyeol’s soft and serene face, that he would be the one to kill Julian. Blood already stained his hands, and he had space for more.

As long as Jongin was in control, Chanyeol’s hands would remain clean. 

“Sleep well.”

The casino was below the floors of rooms. Saturn’s days were long and time didn’t make as much sense to Jongin here. There was no such thing as a nightlife. Saturians partied whenever and however they wanted, much like all the planets past Mars. The casino was as loud and alive as it had been when Chanyeol and Jongin first checked into their room. 

Julian operated on Earthen time, and that meant there was an hour or two until it was technically “night”.

Jongin wasn’t sure what he was going to do to fill the time, but he assumed he would figure it out soon enough. He didn’t want to sound conceited or anything, but he was bound to garner at least a little attention. All he had to do was talk a little sweet, blow on some dice, and he’d have the information on Julian he needed.

“Hey baby, you here alone?”

Barely two steps into the casino, there it was.

Oh, it was just too easy.

A Saturian half his height and twice his weight stood to his side. His smile, disrupted by a fat cigar, was the epitome of skeevy, but there were too many clues pointing to the fact that he was powerful. The expensive suit, bejeweled rings, and most importantly, the incredibly sexy Venusians on his right and left. Jongin was unsure on where he was supposed to fit in, but he thought he might as well play along seeing as this opportunity came so easy.

“What if I am?” he asked, lifting his voice just slightly because he knew men like this one just ate that shit up.

“Then I wouldn’t mind fixing that for you.”

Jongin made a show of looking the stranger up and down, pretending to the best of his ability that he was liking what he was seeing. The man had only two arms, at least. That made things better. “I’d like that.”

He grinned widely, showcasing the teeth he had plated with gold. “Sparrow,” he said, patting the butt of the boy on his left. “You go on back to our room.”

Sparrow nodded. When he caught Jongin’s eye and he saw relief instead of contempt, he gulped. Maybe he’d have to be more careful that he thought. 

The man put his arm around his waist and pretended like it wasn’t a struggle. “Name’s Scythe. You a Moon Elf, pretty?”

“Y-Yup!” he stammered, finding it disturbing that Scythe cared more for his creed than his name.

“Don’t see too much of your kind ‘round these parts. What brings you here?”

“I’m looking for some fun,” Jongin said. “Adventure. Excitement. All that stuff, y’know.”

If Baekhyun was here, steam would be blowing from his ears. Jongin turned down his so-called ‘easy’ paths for missions multiple times because he didn’t want to play bait, but he wanted to make one thing very clear. What he was doing with Scythe was  _ not  _ playing bait. Sure, it was a little demeaning, but it was for information and information only.

“Ah, I do. I do know.” He grabbed a handful of Jongin’s butt, and he bit down on his lip to keep an exclamation of surprise and disgust down. “You’ll find plenty of that with me, _ moonflower _ .”

Jongin bit down harder, until he tasted blood. Scythe had some nerve calling him that. Moonflower was not a kind thing to call a Moon Elf. It stemmed from the years of colonization and unrest on Luna. Moonflowers were young girls and boys kidnapped and taken as bedslaves by powerful Lunar leaders. It was because of those years and because of that term that most beings of the galaxy saw Moon Elves as submissive, wanton creatures. It was the reason most of his kind were scared to venture past what they knew.

The term had since been reclaimed. Moonflower was what Jongin’s mother called him.  _ Used  _ to call him. It meant beautiful and desired and loved, but only on a Moon Elf’s tongue. On Scythe’s tongue, though, Jongin knew  _ exactly  _ what it meant.

“S-Sounds… sounds amazing.”

Scythe hummed. “Why don’t you take this moonflower to get a drink?” he asked the girl on his right. “You know where to meet me after.”

“Alright, sir.”

“Good girl. See you soon, rosebud.”

Jongin inhaled sharply, watching the girl’s face for the kind of rage he expected. She smiled and let him kiss her hand. Jongin was astounded. Rosebud had a fall longer and far worse history behind it than moonflower, and it just rolled off Scythe’s tongue like it was nothing.

“You let him call you that?” he whispered once the man was out of earshot.

She raised a perfectly sculpted, platinum eyebrow. “You let him call you…  _ that, _ ” she said, shrugging. “He’s got a filthy fucking tongue, but… let him call you all the slurs you want and that’s a hundred extra coins in your back pocket.”

“What’s your name?” 

“Swan,” she said, walking in the direction of the bar. “Yours?”

“Kai.”

“Hmm.” She hopped up on a stool and patted the one beside her, inviting him to sit. Seeing as she was Venusian, it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise, but she was stunningly gorgeous. Platinum hair, rosy eyes, sea foam skin. Jongin was in awe just looking at her. “I’ve heard of you.”

Jongin’s breath caught in his throat. “What?”

“Not as recognizable without your android beside you, but… name’s a dead giveaway.”

Jongin felt as if this would work in his favor. Just as long as Julian didn’t tell his friends to keep an eye out for him. He assumed that was the case. Julian was vile, but he didn’t let his rich and powerful friends handle his business.

“Ah. Well…”

“I wouldn’t worry. Scythe’s a moron and I’d have spent this whole time guessing if you didn’t tell me.”

“Why are you with him?”

Swan didn’t answer right away, opting to flag down the bartender and order two ‘snake venom’s. “Gets you drunk real quick,” she said quickly. “As for why I’m with him… got sold off Julian a few years back.” She said it so simply, like she wasn’t the victim of two horrible and despicable men. But… Jongin knew first hand that accepting the bad, no matter how bad it was, caused less pain. “Same with Sparrow. But it’s not all that bad, y’know. Bastard is rich and his dick is tiny. Doesn’t hurt too much.”

Jongin loathed the fact that this was a reality for so many people. No one should have to live like Swan or Sparrow or any other of Julian’s prey. 

“What about you? What do you gain from letting him grope your ass?”

“I’m looking for some information,” he said, frowning.

“What kind?”

“I need to find Julian.”

Swan’s pink eyes narrowed. “What the hell do you want with that bastard?”

“I wanna kill him.”

Jongin knew it was a risk being honest, but he wanted to take his chances. Swan had everything to gain from hurting Julian. Unlike Scythe, a friend and customer. 

“Is that so?” Swan played with the straw in the drink set before her. Jongin startled, not having noticed it was even put down. “Interesting.”

“Can you help me?”

She scowled, sucking on the cherry garnish. “I suppose. I can't tell you much on where he is, but I can help convince Scythe to.”

“Really?” This was a pleasant surprise. “Swan, th—”

“One condition.” She pointed a slender finger at his face. “You kill him too.”

Jongin scoffed. “You have a deal.” It wasn’t a hard decision to make. He knew it would feel just as good to kill Scythe as it would to kill Julian. “Will you and Sparrow be okay?”

“I think we’ll manage.” Swan winked and Jongin’s heart fluttered. “We should head back to him now, anyway.” She snatched the blood red drink from in front of him and gulped at least half of the contents down. “Bleh,” she grunted, face screwed. “Take this with you. Act drunk. Maybe a little slutty if you’re in the mood. His walls will crack easy as glass.”

Jongin nodded, taking the glass back. Swan’s face was still screwed, and he could only imagine the acrid taste, scared to find out himself. He followed her slender, swaying hips to the poker table Scythe was seated at, thinking of how he was supposed to kill the man. It should be a simple job, but he was aiming for something effortless. 

Knife across the throat?

Bullet to the chest?

Asphyxiation?

“Moonflower!”

Asphyxiation. Definitely asphyxiation.

“Hi, Scythe.”

The man patted his thigh and Jongin had to suppress his disgust, complying reluctantly. “You two were gone for quite some time,” he said, holding Jongin’s waist. “I’m glad to see you’re getting along. My rosebud has a somewhat jealous streak.” He brushed his knuckles against Swan’s cheek. It was strange how unable he was to pick up on her uncomfort. That, or he just didn’t care.

“He’s very sweet,” Swan said kindly. “I’ve learned a lot of interesting facts about him.”

“Is that so? Do tell.”

Though he trusted Swan, he’d been wrong before. Jongin placed his hand over his holster, just in the case of an unexpected betrayal. 

“He’d like to do some business with Julian.”

Scythe cocked an eyebrow. “Really? I didn’t peg you as the type.” He tipped Jongin’s chin. “Well… you came to the right place. Julian’s a close friend of mine.”

“He knows all the details already, daddy,” Swan purred, wrapping her arms around Scythe’s neck from behind, glossy lips against his jaw. “Just tell him where he can find him, and we can have the rest of the night together.”

She was good. Really good. 

“Greedy as always. But… if that’s what you want.” Scythe’s lust filled eyes met Jongin’s. He was weak for her, and it was painfully obvious. “You go see him in Room 521. Tell him I sent you, and you can have my discount.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jongin whispered, leaning forward to catch the man’s thin lips in a heated kiss. He tasted of cigars and bitter alcohol, but he pressed forward, going as far to grind his hips down. Scythe sputtered at first, but he responded eagerly, pushing his tongue into Jongin’s mouth and grabbing his butt roughly. The other patrons of the table whistled and hooted, unbothered by the pause to the game and grateful for the show.

Jongin didn’t pull away until he felt seconds from throwing up. A thin line of spit connected their lips, and he couldn’t remember the last time he felt so  _ not  _ turned on by a kiss that intense. Scythe, on the other hand, was a different story. Jongin felt his shameless hard-on between his thighs, and knew it was time to get out.

“You have no idea what this means to me.”

He hopped off and quickly pulled Swan a couple feet away, wanting to talk to her before Scythe fully recovered. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. In the meantime, keep him here as long as you can.”

“Got it,” she said, giddy. “Good luck.” Swan cupped on side of his face, her hands soft like silk. “And thank you.” she pressed a soft kiss against the corner of his lips. Gentle, chaste, but still ten times more enjoyable than what happened with Scythe.

“No, thank  _ you. _ ” Jongin squeezed her hand, taking a few steps backwards before turning and running out.

Room 521.

Room 521.

Room 521.

Jongin removed his gun from its resting place. He would be stupid to ignore the possibility that Scythe and Swan were working in tandem with Julian to create an elaborate trip. Whether or not it was true would become apparent soon enough.

Titan’s hallways were a maze. Jongin was stunned to find that the numbers weren’t in numerical order as he had hoped. 

“Fuck.”

Chanyeol would be waking up any moment now. Jongin wanted to have this over and done with by then, but that seemed more and more unreasonable as he ran from Room 32 to Room 456 to Room 2. As soon as Chanyeol realized he was gone, he’d be sprinting through the hallways trying to find him.

“Should’ve left a damn note,” Jongin hissed under his breath, turning another corner. 

Five minutes passed, and Jongin must’ve passed hundreds of rooms and a handful of Titan patrons that stared at him like he was insane. He didn’t care what they thought of him, but he was glad no one tried to stop him. “Room 521. Room 521. Room 521.”

When Jongin’s eyes fell upon those fateful numbers, he thought he was dreaming. Maybe it was a mirage created by his brain to get his exhausted body to finally still. He pressed his fingers against the silver numbers, solid and cold. “Okay. Okay, okay, okay.”

The door was locked, and Jongin had little energy or patience to try and pick it like he would normally do it. Distancing his body as much as possible, Jongin shot it off and kicked the splintered door open. It revealed a spacious and dark suite. He caught the silhouettes of furniture, but no people. 

“Julian!” he bellowed. “Julian!”

“J-Jongin?”

A voice. Small. Scared. Female.

“Ying Yue?”

The lights flickered on like magic. Ying Yue was standing before him, her face tear stained, but as far as he could tell, unharmed. 

“Oh Gods, Ying Yue…” he shoved his gun back as to not frighten her as he approached. “Do you remember me?” She nodded, her chin beginning to tremble. Knowing what was coming, Jongin crouched in front of her and held her close. He was a strange man and she was still in strange territory, but he still hoped a gentle hold came as some sort of comfort. 

“Are w-we… are we leaving?”

“Of course. Of course we are.”

Julian was lurking in the shadows somewhere, Jongin was positive of it. He wanted Ying Yue out of here, as far away from what was about to happen as possible, but he couldn’t tell her to run. Not when Titan was teeming with bad people. He figured he could tell her to go find Swan, the Venusian with green skin. Or if Chanyeol was awake and looking for him, he could send her his way.

But no. No. Ying Yue was safest by his side. 

“Ying Yue… where’s Julian?” he asked, rubbing her back. “I need to take care of a few things with him, and then I’ll be taking you back to your uncle and your mother, alright?”

Ying Yue rubbed her running nose. She took a few moments to cry, and Jongin waited patiently, holding her all the while. Her hand rose, shaking, but extended toward the doors across the room from them. Tall, dark, and imposing. So behind those laid Julian. Jongin nodded and stood. “I’m going in there now. Would you like to come with me?”

She took quick glances around the dark room. Empty, yes, but Jongin felt eyes on him anyway. 

“Yes,” breathed Ying Yue.

Jongin walked ahead of her, feeling for the bulges of his concealed weapons as he did. They were there. Comforted, he pressed his hands against the heavy doors which gave way with a gentle push. “Hmm,” he hummed and then inhaled, preparing himself for whatever he was about to see.

A grand office lay before him. Bookshelves brimming with brightly colored spines lined the walls and a rug of creature fur superimposed the hardwood floor. Opulence. Pure opulence. This was more than a workplace. It was a method of intimidation. Jongin tore his eyes away from the various trinkets to what was ahead of him. A chair behind a desk, its back turned to him. Julian sat upon it, he knew, gazing through large windows upon the bustling streets of Kronos Avenue.

“Stay here,” he whispered to Ying Yue, taking tentative steps forward, hand on his gun. “Julian?”

Silence.

“Julian.” 

Gun out. Gun aimed.

“Julian.”

He stopped a cautious couple of steps away from the edge of the desk, heartbeat pounding and speeding. The chair stirred and turned. There was, of course, a man there. Though he’d never seen him before and had the most basic of physical descriptors, he knew that was Julian. 

Ruddy blonde, pale, blue eyes, a pale scar on his top lip. Plain. “Kai,” he said, his voice low and ominous, like the howl of wind on a quiet night. “We finally meet.”

Jongin aimed his gun again, just to make sure Julian knew of its presence. His finger hovered over the trigger. All he had to do was pull it, and he’d be two million coins richer. A simple movement of his finger. Jongin bit his lip. Julian smiled. “Didn’t think of you as the type to be unafraid to die.”

“And you were right.” His eyes shifted from Jongin's to the barrel of his gun. “I know when I’m not in danger.”

“Is that so?”

“You won’t shoot me.” Julian crossed his legs. “If you meant to, you would’ve already.”

Jongin couldn’t deny the stiffness of his trigger finger. It would be so easy. So, so, so easy, but… the killing blow didn’t belong to him. Jongin knew what he had to do. He lowered his gun. 

“Good boy.” Julian gestured in front of him. “Please. Take a seat.”

Jongin spared a quick glance at Ying Yue, just to make sure she was still safe. She shifted into a seat in the corner. Far away from Julian, just like Jongin wanted her. At the moment, she was his one liability. Though he knew Julian had to have guards lurking outside the doors, he was sure they wouldn’t be called in. The man already deluded himself into thinking this would be easy.

He sat down, and he must’ve still been staring at Ying Yue because Julian’s hand was suddenly around his jaw, jerking his face up roughly. Jongin hadn’t even heard him move. “Though I’m sure you’d look absolutely gorgeous in ropes, I have neither the time nor energy to tie you down.” His touch was rough and nauseating. “So continue to behave or I’ll kill you both.” He waited for a sign of acknowledgement, and it came in the form of Jongin’s silence paired with a stone hard glare. “Good.”

Julian leaned against his desk. “I have to say, I’m rather impressed with you. You and Loey. I’ve never had to be so… worried about two measly bounty hunters before.”

Jongin tried not to get a big head. He knew a humbling was impending.

“But you’re not good enough.” He played with his expensive watch and rings, flexing the luxuries like it was supposed to impress him. “Many people want me dead. They have for years. But I’m still alive today. You want to know why?”

Jongin couldn’t care less, but Julian didn’t process. “Why?” he grumbled.

“You’re all predictable.” Jongin wanted to punch him. Knock his teeth out and then leave him alive so he’d have to use a feeding tube for the rest of his miserable life. “The only people who come for me are the people who think they’re better than me. You don’t respect power like you should because if you did, you’d keep your distance.” He glanced at Ying Yue. “Or you’d be able to sacrifice a few innocent lives, at least.”

So Julian thought he was doing this out of the good of his heart. Perhaps he could work with that.

“I don’t think I’m better than you,” Jongin hissed. “I know I am. I don’t prey on children.”

“But your hands aren’t clean either, darling. You’ve killed for money. I think we’re in the same category.”

“You’re fucking wrong.”

Julian grinned. “If you say so.” He checked the time. “Where’s Loey?”

Jongin stiffened. “Why do you wanna know?”

“So I can kill him, obviously.” His expression turned to hurt, but Jongin knew it was all an act. “I truly thought that the two of us were friends. That he’d moved past all that teenage angst and recognized all I gave him. Turns out he was playing me all along. I’m not happy. I want him dead.”

“After telling me that, why do you think I’d tell you?”

“Because I’m going to present you with a choice.” Julian was far more sinister than any of the few Earthens Jongin had ever met. “Tell me voluntarily where Loey is and I’ll let you and the girl go. Don’t tell me… fine, but I’m killing her and I’ll beat it out of you.”

Jongin inhaled sharply, wishing he didn’t the moment he did. Julian noticed and he could tell that frightened Jongin, if not just unnerved him slightly. “You found me easy enough. I’m sure you could find him too if you really tried.”

“I’d rather it come from you,” said Julian. “It would hurt more, I’m thinking.” He got up again and Jongin’s body naturally backed up as far as it could in his chair, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the armrests. “I’ve never heard of the kid travelling with someone apart from his android. You have to mean something to him.”

“Let’s just make this easy. Where did you last see him?”

“Our room.” 

“What number?”

“I don’t remember.”

A sharp and stinging slap turned Jongin’s head. It should’ve been an expected reaction of Julian’s, but it shocked him anyway.

“Wrong answer. Try again.”

“Fine. He’s on the third floor.”

Another slap on his other cheek this time. “Give me the specific number.”

“Don’t remember.”

Julian’s face finally cracked, his frown adding to his rich collection of wrinkles. “You’re on really thin ice, moonflower.” He adjusted the jewelry on the hand he hadn’t been using. Jongin gulped. Those were going to hurt. “It’d be a pity to hurt a face as pretty as yours, but you’re dancing on my last nerve here.”

“Oh, now you’re being too kind.”

Julian lifted the ringed hand, and Jongin braved himself for another slap or punch, but instead his chin was only tipped. “You’re a cheeky little thing, aren’t you?” He was laughing now. Jongin didn’t like that. Julian was less scary when he was angry because it made Jongin feel like he had the upper hand. “Maybe I should just keep you.” 

Jongin couldn’t help but scoff. “Don’t kid yourself. You couldn’t fucking handle me.”

Julian lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve tamed wilder than you, moonflower.”

“You don’t know what the hell you’re dealing with.” It wasn’t Julian’s fault he didn’t know the absolute, seething hate he had for the idea of being owned. All he could see now was red. “I’d bite your fingers off before I’d let you touch me like that.”

“Amazing.” He had Jongin’s jaw in a tight grip that he knew would bruise later. “I always thought Moon Elves were prissy little bitches. Those are fun and all,” he bent down, his face far too close to Jongin’s, “but breaking you down to obedience would be far more awarding.”

For years, Baekhyun relentlessly mocked Jongin for carrying a knife. He said he’d be shot before he even thought about getting into stabbing distance. Jongin almost believed him, but as Julian bit down on the shell of his ear and gripped his waist, he was grateful he didn’t. While the man was distracted, he extracted it from his pockets. Jongin drove it into his stomach, and Julian’s teeth closed down on the tip of his ear hard enough to almost take it off.

Years of experience taught him one important thing: men are at their weakest when they think they’re in power.

“What the--”

With a kick to the groin, he sent Julian flying into his desk. “Tame me?” Jongin asked as he crouched down to his crumpled form. “What a fucking joke.” He gripped the handle of the blade again, digging it deeper until Julian spat blood. “You’re a fucking joke.”

The man glared up at him, his teeth clenched and painted red. He hadn’t been expecting this, and the surprise mixed with agony on his face was delicious. “You  _ whore _ .” He spat another ball of bloody phlegm. It landed on Jongin’s cheek, but he couldn’t even be offended. He drove the knife deeper and Julian cried bloody murder, his whole body convlusing in the futile effort to get away. “You’ll never get out of here alive.”

Jongin was satisfied. He was content. Julian wasn’t strong enough to ruin that. He never was and never would be. Jongin stood. “I think I’ll manage.”

Gunshots rang like a chorus behind him, followed by four separate grunts and thumps of heavy bodies hitting the floor. “Jongin! Jongin, are you here?!”

Ah. Just in time.

Chanyeol came sprinting through the open doors, and Jongin’s eyes widened to see Baekhyun a couple steps behind, storing a smoking gun in him arm. Seeing them both was like a full body relief. “Jongin--” he faltered in his path when he turned, spotting the blood splattered across his face and the almost corpse at his feet. “Oh my gods.”

“Hi.” Jongin finally rubbed the back of his hand against his cheek, only serving to smear the crimson further. “Took you long enough.”

“I-I went back to the ship because… b-because I thought you--oh my  _ gods. _ ” Chanyeol stumbled up, his mouth hanging open. He covered his lips with his hands, a laugh starting to tumble from them. “And here I was thinking you needed rescuing.”

“Awe, you were wrong, but it’s sweet that you were thinking of me.”

They both looked down at Julian’s struggling, sputtering, and bleeding body. Chanyeol’s smile kept growing, and Jongin could barely put into words how happy he was that he restrained himself when he first came face to face with Julian.

“Who would’ve thought he’d go down this easy?” asked Chanyeol.

“Y’know, in a way, I saw this coming.”

Chanyeol nodded and began to laugh. “Me too.” He bent down, so close to Julian’s face that he could smell the blood off his breath. “Pathetic bastard likes to prey on kids and hide behind a desk. I can’t  _ believe  _ I ever fooled myself into thinking you were strong.”

Julian spat again, unable to do much less, but Chanyeol dodged it. He chuckled. “Oh, I’ve been fucking waiting for this.” He slammed his fist into the man’s face, the tell tale crunch of bone following.

Jongin studied the glint in Chanyeol’s gorgeous eyes as he pummeled what little life Julian was clinging to out of him. The murderous, dastardly, and joyous glint. He couldn’t believe he tried to take this from him. 

Everyone had a little evil in them, and Jongin was finally seeing Chanyeol’s. 

He offered his gun. “Need this?”

Chanyeol straightened, wiping sweat and red from his brow. His gaze was inquisitive as he cupped Jongin’s cheek. The sting of his hand reminded him of the assaulted skin. It didn’t hurt all too much, but judging by the way Chanyeol was staring, there must’ve been a mark.

“Did he do this?” he asked, voice dark.

Whether he told the truth or not, Jongin wasn’t sure what to expect. “Yes.”

Chanyeol nodded and looked at the gun still hanging limply in Jongin’s hand. “I’ll manage without it.”

Jongin exhaled slowly. “‘Kay.” Just for good measure, he brought his boot down as hard as he could on Julian’s groin. “That was for you, baby,” he said, kissing Chanyeol’s temple. “Enjoy yourself.”

Jongin was free to finally approach Ying Yue. “You ready to go home?” Tears were streaming down her face, but he was relieved to see she wasn’t scared of him. He offered his hand which she took with only brief hesitation, barely bothered by the fact that she just watched him use it to stab a man. Julian’s death was most likely the best thing she’d watched in awhile. “Let’s go.”

He held her hand tight and met Baekhyun at the door. “What’s your deal?”

“You’re a moron,” the android said, gathering Jongin in a sudden and tight hug. “I was so worried.” He buried his face in his neck. As Jongin hugged him back with his one free hand, he kicked the door closed, just as Chanyeol got back to  _ work _ .

“I know. I know, I’m sorry. I just… I had to do this my way.”

“You always tend to end up doing that.” Baekhyun held one side of his face, smiling tenderly. “And it worked. As always.”

Jongin nodded, squeezing Baekhyun’s hand. “While we’re in this mood,” Jongin began, thinking of a certain green skinned Venusian. “I need you to do me a favor.”

~

Things were finally starting to look up. 

Chanyeol had Julian right where he wanted him for too many years of his life. Ying Yue was safe and on her way home. In a matter of minutes, they’d be on their ship, crossing the finish line and collecting their prize of two million coins.

All he had to do was make good on a simple promise.

“This isn’t a good idea,” Baekhyun said, holding Ying Yue’s hand tight. “We’re too close to risk it, Jongin.”

“I know, I know, but… she helped me. I can’t do that to her.”

They slowed from a run to a walk as they reached the casino. Through the glass doors, Jongin spotted Swan. She did her job keeping Scythe at the tables. Sparrow, the Venusian male, had returned to his side and was currently blowing on a pair of dice in the man’s hand.

As if she could sense his presence, she gazed up, her whole face brightening as she waved enthusiastically. Scythe took notice, looking back at her before looking towards him. His expression moved from excitement to confusion in a matter of minutes. Jongin didn’t look as pretty as he had the last time they spoke.

“Moonflower?”

The atmosphere of the area darkened quickly and greatly. Baekhyun’s eyes had narrowed and the hand not intertwined with Ying Yue tightened into a fist. “What the fuck did he just call you?”

Jongin frowned. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal? No, Jongin, that’s—”

“I know very fucking well that that is. Now, Baekhyun, thank you for looking out for me, I love you, but  _ please _ I need you to get Ying Yue to the ship right now. We don’t have much time until someone starts to catch onto what we did.” He glanced after Scythe, a smile growing on his lips. “Anyway, he’s getting what’s coming to him.”

Plenty to say, as always, Baekhyun bit his tongue. “Okay, fine.” He began to back away. “Make it extra painful for me.”

“Got it.”

With a quick prayer to Hecate for their safety, Jongin entered the casino. 

“Hi,” Swan said as soon as they were close. “I take it you were successful?” Swan spoke off the blood on his face, his body, and his hands. Others were starting to notice too, but he’d be out before they thought of doing anything. “I’m impressed.”

“I’m nothing if not a man of my word.”

“Well, we’re about to see how true that is.” She raised her eyebrows suggestively. “Daddy! Look who’s back!”

Scythe turned and before the name that Jongin knew was about to tumble from his lips was said, he had his hands around his throat. With a rough push, the man was on the table, eyes bulging and hands gripping Jongin’s wrists. 

The people around them jumped back and screamed. Jongin knew he didn’t have much time now. Titan was a bad place, but he was pretty sure they didn’t tolerate public stranglings. 

“No one worry!” Swan jumped on the table beside Scythe and pecked his purpling face. “He’s into this,” she purred, nipping his ear. 

If Scythe had any sort of air left in him to retaliate, Jongin pressed his thumbs down harder and squeezed it out. In an effort to make what Swan said more believable, he climbed up onto the table too, specifically Scythe’s lap. He made a show of gyrating his hips. People continued to look on, but their whispers showed hesitance on whether or not they should jump in. Apparently, the throuple had a reputation.

Lucky for Jongin, Swan, and Sparrow, Scythe’s eyes rolled back in slightly less than five minutes. 

Jongin hopped off the table and picked up his body. He was unbelievably heavy, but fine enough to manage for a short amount of time.

Sparrow stared at him, pretty violet eyes wide. “What the fuck is going on, Swan?”

The woman took one of Scythe’s arms. “We’re gonna go home, Sparrow. That’s what’s going on.”

Sparrow stood there, blinking dumbly. “That’s… but… is this—is this why you asked me to transfer his bank info to us.”

“Precisely, baby. Now help me with him.”

Sparrow stuttered into action, taking Scythe’s other arm from Jongin. Despite their stick-thin bodies, they held him up well, even as they began to walk out.

“Do you two have a ride back home?” Jongin wondered why he asked as soon as he did. Last time he checked, he wasn’t this hospitable. 

“Well… we have enough to buy one from the markets outside.”

Jongin took a moment to think about Sparrow and Swan, two scrawny and beautiful Venusians, perusing the marketplace of Kronos Avenue. His face screwed. They’d end up right where they started. “Why don’t you let us bring you back home?”

The two exchanged glances. “You’d do that?”

“Yeah,” he said, just as surprised as they were. 

“Kai, you’re spectacular.” Swan dropped Scythe abruptly and ran to gather him in a tight hug, giggling and jumping. He hugged back, but was growing increasingly aware of the rumblings of the crowd that still hadn’t taken their eyes off them. They were catching on.

“Swan, do you have anything you need in your room?”

She looked back at Sparrow who shook his head. “Nothing of importance.”

Jongin nodded. Two men were running around the curve leading to the casino. They stopped and checked their surroundings, landing on Jongin.

“You!”

Fuck.

Julian’s—not dead—guards.

This was also the confirmation the people of the casino, Scythe’s supposed friends, were waiting for. A Martian man stood up, forehead creased and hand in his jacket pocket.

Oh no.

“Great. Let’s run.”

Swan grabbed Sparrow’s hand, dragging him forward until he dropped Scythe and ran with her. That was supposedly the last straw for the crowd as someone shouted some sort of battle cry and came rushing after them.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Jongin remembered the way out pretty well, but that didn’t stop the hallways of Titan from being a maze. All they had to do was make it out, then they could lose the mob in the marketplace chaos. 

A bullet whizzed past Jongin, scraping the side of his face. Swan gasped.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” He whipped out his gun and fired three times behind him with no aim and no thoughts. Jongin heard a cry of pain and smiled. Hecate was on his side today.

“Faster, faster, faster!” he called out, urging the Venusians on. Jongin didn’t even want to think about what could happen if the three of them were caught.

“Jongin?” The Moon Elf’s head whipped to the side and he saw Chanyeol running towards them, a vision of blood and gore. “What are you still doing here?”

“I’ll explain on the ship, let’s just go!”

Chanyeol didn’t need to be told twice, matching Jongin’s pace. He spared a glance back, just in time for a bullet to come flying past him too. Thank the gods, these assholes couldn’t aim. “What  _ happened _ ?”

“Bad gamble.” He paused. “Oh, and by the way, this is Swan and Sparrow. They’re coming with us.”

“Hi!” chirped Swan.

Waving back, Chanyeol shook his head and laughed affectionately. “I could scold you, but I feel like you’re gonna get enough of that from Baekhyun when we get to the ship.”

“Please don’t tell him about the mob.”

“I’m telling him about the mob.”

“ _ Ass _ hat.”

Chanyeol laughed in response. They were nearing the exit. If they could slip into the chaos outside, they’d be free. Another bullet cracked the glass of the doors. Chanyeol was shooting back, sober enough to hit plenty of his targets, but Jongin kept praying to Hecate anyway. If not him… Swan, Sparrow, and Chanyeol had to make it back to the ship safely.

Jongin slammed his shoulder into the door, knocking it open.

“They’re getting away!” someone bellowed.

A grin split Jongin’s lip. Taking Swan’s hand, he began to maneuver through the many bodies along the Avenue, Sparrow and Chanyeol close behind. The mob couldn’t start firing into the crowd, not if they wanted to see another day.

“We did it,” Jongin breathed, hand against his mouth. “Oh my Gods… we did it.”

“We’re not back on the ship yet,” Chanyeol said, breathless. “But fuck, we really did, didn’t we?”

Jongin wanted to kiss him senseless, but he restrained himself. There would be plenty of time for that and more on the eleven hour ride back to Saturn.

The ship came into sight, and Jongin finally allowed himself to slow into a jog. He looked back and saw no chasers and no guards. While he knew it would be stupid to let his guard down completely, he felt okay enough to let it down a little. 

Chanyeol let down the ship’s ramp, and they sprinted up. It closed and Jongin sunk to his feet, alive and deathly exhausted.

“Oh my Gods,” Swan wheezed. “And I thought I was in shape.”

~

Grunting, Chanyeol backed up against the closed ramp, his tired legs barely able to keep him up. The pain of the bullet in his shoulder was beginning to sharpen now that he’d stopped moving. Chanyeol pressed his palm against the wound, hissing as it came away bloodstained. When it had pierced him inside Titan, it took everything that was in him, every ounce of energy and joy that he got from ending Julian, to refrain from crying out. He knew it would only serve as a distraction for both him and Jongin if he made a big deal, and such a distraction could land them and their two new Venusian friends in a dark,  _ bad  _ place.

His vision began to blur. Black spots formed as Jongin crawled over on his hands and knees, expression playful until the realization set it. Chanyeol assumed he called for Kyungsoo next as he and Baekhyun came running from the cockpit where they were most likely watching the marketplace.

Chanyeol hoped he wasn’t dying. It didn’t feel as if the bullet had shredded through something vital, but at the same time, how would he know? It would just fucking hurt either way.

And no matter what, he wasn’t ready to die. Not yet. Not now that he’d finally gotten everything he’d ever dreamed of… and more.

Julian was dead. He’d paid not only for his crimes against living beings, but Chanyeol and his mother as well. She was resting easier now, he was sure of it. He was satisfied. He couldn’t protect her when she needed it, but he could give her this. 

For the longest time, that was all he wanted in life. If he could kill Julian, if he could avenge his mother, he’d die a happy death no matter his age.

But last night, the most beautiful boy in the entire galaxy fell asleep in his arms.

Chanyeol couldn’t—no, he  _ refused  _ to let that go.

His body was lifted off the ground, and with his vision more black than in color, he prayed. He prayed for the first time since he lost faith at twelve years old. He prayed to Jongin’s Hecate and his mother’s Ceres.

_ Please… don’t let me die. _

~

“How is he?”

Kyungsoo kept his head down as he walked out of Chanyeol’s room, sliding the door shut behind him. “He’ll be okay,” he said softly, wiping his hands with a sanitizer soaked rag.

Jongin stood. “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. He lost a lot of blood so he’s resting, but the bullet didn’t hit anything vital.” He walked over to the kitchen table and collapsed onto a seat across from Jongin. “Thankfully. I’m no MedDroid. I don’t think I could’ve done what I did if the wound was anymore serious.”

Jongin wanted to see Chanyeol, but he knew that to do so would be inappropriate. Reluctantly, he sat back down. “What’s Baekhyun doing?”

“Keeping track of his vitals as he sleeps, just to make sure.” Kyungsoo rubbed a hand over his face as he laughed. “The things older models can do that I can’t… funny.”

“Baekhyun was actually a MedDroid,” Jongin explained, desperate to get his mind off things. “The vital checker, the compartments in his arms and legs… they were all to help with surgeries.”

“How’d you end up with a MedDroid?”

“The original owner didn’t want him anymore and gave him to an ex of mine. They tinkered with him a little, and, well… that’s how we got the Baek we all know and love today.”

Kyungsoo chuckled softly, threading a hand through his dark hair. He didn’t respond like Jongin wanted him to, and the silence set in. Jongin frowned.

“Why didn’t I notice?”

Kyungsoo’s smile, though faint and tired, dropped. “If there’s one thing Chanyeol is good at,” he began. “It’s hiding when he’s in pain.”

“I just—I thought I would—”

“But you didn’t.” Kyungsoo shrugged. “And that’s okay. That was what Chanyeol wanted to happen, after all. He suppressed it because he didn’t want to possibly put you in danger.”

“He told you?”

“I’ve lived alongside him long enough to know how he functions.” Kyungsoo sighed. “And you’ve probably seen by now that Chanyeol doesn’t just live for himself.”

“Oh yeah,” Jongin said, smiling. “I’d have to be stupid to not.”

Kyungsoo’s lips thinned. “He really likes you, y’know.”

Jongin’s breath caught. “I’ve seen him fall in love once before, and it was just like this.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I… I thought you didn’t like me.” It felt stupid to say, but not untrue. 

“Ah, this is about what I said after Pluto, isn’t it?” Jongin nodded. “The thing is… I look out for Chanyeol. Just like Baekhyun looks out for you, and I just… I know that if you’re the one to break his heart, it will never heal. And as it is right now, I have no doubt in my mind that you will.” He rose to his feet. “I’ve seen people like you, Jongin. You… you thrive on your own, and that’s okay, but that’s not the kind of man Chanyeol was meant to be. I want him to have someone, more than anything, but if it’s not someone that will stay, I don’t see the point in entertaining the idea.” He touched the back of his neck almost sheepishly. “But, Jongin… honestly, I hope you’ll prove me wrong.” Kyungsoo bobbed his head in stiff acknowledgement. “If you need me, I’ll be recharging in my room.”

“Okay. Th… Thank you.”

With the Venusian twins and Ying Yue enjoying uninterrupted slumbers in their respective rooms and Kyungsoo gone, Jongin was alone on the ship, accompanied only by the gentle hum of the engine. He planted his head into his hands. He was glad for the confirmation that Chanyeol was going to be okay, but it didn’t feel as good as it was supposed to.

Jongin never took a moment to think about what would happen after he and Chanyeol accomplished their mission. Though Jongin didn’t team up with people often, whenever he did, they parted ways after payment. He had contacts recorded on his RITA database, but they were never utilized. Kyungsoo was right. There was always the underlying, sometimes debilitating fear of putting his trust into someone easily. Calling them up a second time for help or acquaintance could send a message Jongin didn’t want to risk. 

But that wasn’t what he wanted with Chanyeol.

He didn’t want to leave him behind after this, never to be seen or heard from again. He didn’t  _ want  _ him as another contact, he wanted… he wanted him at his side. Jongin didn’t care how long it lasted or how badly it ended, all that mattered was that he got the chance to love someone like he’d always wanted to. Like Chanyeol deserved.

~

“Lay!”

There was always something about Lay’s backyard that gave Jongin the creeps. Even with no enormous snakes in sight, his skin crawled and his hair stood on end.

“It’s Kai,” he said, knocking on the door again. “Is anyone home?!”

No answer.

Jongin sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “What do you wanna bet he’s doing, Ying Yue?”

The young girl rubbed her chin, pretending to think. “Ignoring you. Planning a surprise.”

Jongin laughed lightly. “Gods, you’re right.” He glanced at the tall, surrounding trees. “You don’t think—”

“KAI!”

_ “AGH!”  _

A face dropped suddenly in front of his, a wide smile creating handsome dimples in the doctor’s cheeks. Jongin stumbled back out of sheer surprise, heart thumping wildly in his chest, fingers against his lips. He was one wrong move from falling back on his ass, and could only thank Hecate for helping him find his balance in the last moment. “For the love of the  _ Gods,  _ Lay, what is your  _ deal? _ ”

Lay dropped gracefully to his feet, vines uncurling from his ankles and retreating into the greenery like they had a mind of their own. “I was testing your instincts, moonflower,” he explained. “Subpar.”

Jongin’s cheeks burned. “You—”

“Ying Yue! My darling!” Lay changed his line of sight quickly, moving toward his niece and lifting her off the ground. She was giggling like crazy from either Jongin’s fluster, safe reunitement with her uncle, or both. He couldn’t find it in himself to remain miffed. There was something beautifully pure about Ying Yue’s positive hysterics. Unbridled and joyous, exactly the way laughter from a girl her age was supposed to sound.

“By Saturn, it’s so good to see you again. Safe.” 

Lay’s face, gentle and smiling, was as serious as Jongin had ever seen it. His eyes were free of that common mischievous glint, and replaced with something far more loving. No matter how nonchalant or dismissive as he seemed towards her in messages, Jongin could see it was all an act. Perhaps a safety measure to prevent Jongin from using her against him too—though he never would. He looked at Ying Yue like she was everything, holding her as close and tight as he possibly could.

Jongin’s father… Jongin’s father used to hold him like that too.

Jongin frowned, unsure of where that had come from. He shook his head. This wasn’t the time.

“Lay…” he said softly, regretful to interrupt the reunion. 

“Oh, Kai, of course… I apologize, got a little carried away there.”

“No problem at all.”

“Come inside, would you? We can work out your payment there.”

Jongin glanced back at the ship. Hopefully Kyungsoo could wait a few extra minutes. “Alright.”

“Where are the rest of your friends?”

“The mission took a bit of a turn on Kronos Avenue. They’re all resting.”

“Oh, that’s a pity. I was looking forward to seeing your android again.”

“There will be other chances.”

Lay led him to his office. Minding the walls lined with slithering plants, Jongin sat across from him, Ying Yue on her uncle’s lap. “How much did I promise you again?”

“Two million coins.”

Lay frowned. “Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like me.”

Jongin scoffed. “I’m positive, doctor.”

Lay shrugged and began pulling up Jongin’s account information on the screen in between them. In silence, he transferred the owed money. 

“While we’re here,” started Jongin. “I’ve been wanting to know why Julian… did what he did in the first place.”

Lay sighed, removing his wire rimmed glasses, allowing them to hang around his neck on a silver chain. “To show me that he could.”

“What?”

“You don’t get anywhere in this profession by being kind, but it’s also not wise to have nothing but enemies.” Lay curled a stray strand of Ying Yue’s hair behind her ear. “I did not and never planned on making a friend out of Julian. Or any man like him, but perhaps I should’ve been more careful turning down his offers for business. Nevertheless, I don’t regret doing so.” 

“So Ying Yue was leverage?”

“Oh no. Nothing of the sort.” Lay closed all his screens. “I could've licked his boots clean, offered my business, and begged him give her back, but he still wouldn’t have cared. He wanted to hurt me, yes, but all this was mainly to show that we could no longer be friends.”

“It’s a good thing he’s dead.”

Ying Yue and Lay smiled. “A marvelous thing,” he said in agreement. “I can’t begin to thank you enough, moonflower. I was beginning to lose sleep.”

“It was my pleasure, doctor. Truly.”

Lay leaned back in his chair, eyes squinted. “For a bounty hunter, you’ve got a heart of gold.”

“Fool’s gold, perhaps, but… thank you.” Jongin stood up, sensing the natural end to his visit around the corner. “I think it’s time I go.”

“Ah, yes, how time flies.” Lay let Ying Yue stand before he did, ruffling her hair. His hands naturally flocked to her every other second like he had to keep making sure she was there. Safe. Unharmed. 

“Is your sister coming to pick her up?”

Lay shook his head. “We’re going there together. It’s… it’s the least I could do.”

“You’re a good man too, Lay.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to seduce me, Kai.”

Jongin sighed, laughing breathily as he shook his head. “No. Not today, Lay. But maybe one day you’ll get lucky enough.”

Lay shrugged. “Fine by me. Your android is more my type anyway.”

“I’ll make sure to relay the message.” Jongin took the initiative of opening the house’s door. He spared a quick glance up, catching Kyungsoo’s dark eyes through the sunshield. He held up his pointer finger, his face as apologetic as he could make it, then turned back to the uncle and his niece. “Ying Yue,” he began gently, crouching down to her level. “How are you feeling?”

“Good,” she murmured, her lips upturned at the corners. She was a shy thing, and Baekhyun said it was because she had a little crush on Jongin, but he didn’t see it. “And you?”

“I’ve never been better.” He placed his hand atop her head, watching her expression for any sort of discomfort. When none came, he rubbed her hair. “You’ve still got my number?” She nodded, brandishing her arm where they wrote down his and Chanyeol’s contact information in washable marker. “Remember that you can call me with that anytime. You don’t have to, that’s okay too, but I’ll always be here if you need someone to talk to.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“It’s no problem at all, sweetheart. In the meantime, don’t let him,” he glanced up at Lay, “cause you any trouble.” Ying Yue giggled. “And when you get home, make sure you give your mother a big hug. I know she’s been worried sick about you.”

Ying Yue laughed cutely into her hand, and Jongin ruffled her hair again as he straightened his spine. Just as he opened his mouth to say his final farewells, Lay’s voice cut over his.

“Oh! I almost forgot.” The doctor ran into his home, coming out moments later with a opaque container in his hands. “The rest of your payment, moonflower.”

Jongin’s eyebrows knitted together as he took the offered object. He plucked the lid open slightly, memories of the entire deal with Lay rushing back as he did.

Inside the container, two slices of soft pink cake iced prettily in white and garnished by petals of Venusian Roses. 

~

A knock sounded on the other side of Chanyeol’s door. “Come in,” he called out, closing the novel on his lap.

The entrance slid open just a bit, and Jongin’s face peeked inside, his overgrown alabaster hair hanging over his pretty eyes. “Hi,” he said, stepping in. He had a plate in his hand, a slice of cake and two forks on it. Chanyeol straightened.

“No, no, no,” Jongin quickly exclaimed, rushing to his side. “Stay as you were.”

Chanyeol shook his head. “It’s alright. It barely hurts anymore.”

“It’s only been a few days,” Jongin said, his tone chastising. “I’ll just leave if you keep lying to me.”

“No,” Chanyeol whispered. “Stay. Please.” He paused. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Jongin pulled a chair to the bed, setting the plate down beside the lamp. “Truly, how are you feeling?”

“Truly? Pretty shitty.” It had been a long time since Chanyeol was last shot, and though he remembered it hurting just as much, he was still unprepared for the constant ache that only seemed to numb in certain, awkward positions. He looked to Jongin. The Moon Elf’s tired eyes held concern, and despite all that, he still managed to look as pretty as he had in all of Chanyeol’s dreams. “But better now that you’re here.”

“You’re a sap.” His cheeks grew pink. “I just got back from Lay’s. Ying Yue is fine, and she’s on her way home right now.” Chanyeol nodded. It was great to hear some good news. “Kyungsoo helped me transfer a million coins to your account—”

“Jongin—”

“It’s been done, and nothing you can say will change my mind on this, okay?”

Chanyeol frowned. Nothing about Jongin’s raised eyebrow and tight lips made him want to argue. “Okay.”

“Good boy.” Jongin picked the plate from the bedside table again. “This is the other half of  _ our  _ payment. Lay’s sister’s Venusian Rose cake. Would you like some?”

“Have the others already had some?”

Jongin scoffed. “Kyungsoo said no. Baekhyun tried a bite of this one, but since he’s got no digestive tract, I gave the other slice to the twins.”

“Okay. Sure, in that case.”

“Perfect.”

“I take it we’re on our way to Venus, then?”

“Mhm.”

Chanyeol opened his mouth, accepting the piece of cake on a fork Jongin was offering. He’d had Venusian Rose flavored things before. When he thought about it, he was pretty sure he had a bag or two of tea based on it in his cupboard. It was saccharine, the tooth rotting kind, but somehow…pleasant. Nostalgic. He could eat handfuls of sugar raw as a kid. The cakes his mother would make on his birthdays were always excessively sweet with thickly layered frosting. She could never eat more than a few bites so over the course of a week, he’d have finished it all on his own. 

And they both had the audacity to wonder why he had to get so many cavities filled. 

“Good?” asked Jongin.

Chanyeol swallowed. “You try.” Jongin did, his face screwing almost as soon as his mouth closed around the bite. Chanyeol laughed.

“Wow.”

“A lot, right?”

“Oh yeah. Hecate.” Jongin looked as if he struggled with swallowing. “Somehow… not worth the wait.”

“Somehow.”

“Unless you’d like more… I think I’ll save the rest as a farewell gift for Swan and Sparrow.”

“Fine by me.” Chanyeol cleared his throat. “Have you… have you thought at all about what you’ll be doing after this? A-After Venus, I mean.”

Jongin frowned quickly, hands tightening on his thighs. “I, um, not really. No. I haven’t.”

Chanyeol wanted him to stay. He knew that as soon as he woke up, Kyungsoo two stitches into his wound. His whole body was lit up with pains and aches, but he was alive. Hecate, Ceres,  _ whoever,  _ heard his prayers and  _ listened.  _ Not only did he survive, he was going to live. Julian was dead, his mother was avenged, his wound would heal, and the life he’d always wanted was an arm’s length away from him. 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for him to reach out and grab it. If it, if  _ Jongin,  _ didn’t reach out first, there was no point. He could pine for his attention for an eternity, happily at that, but if it continued to make Jongin as uncomfortable as he had been when Chanyeol first said he loved him, it would remain a waste.

The thing was, Chanyeol fully expected Jongin to say it back. He had been tight and warm around him, for God’s sake, begging him to go faster. Harder. His eyes had rolled back into his head, his pink lips parted just the slightest. He was a vision. The most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Jongin blossomed at his mercy, and Chanyeol couldn’t keep his stupid words to himself.

_ “I think I love you.” _

And just as he thought Jongin would bloom; he wilted. His eyes returned to place. His lips closed. His body curled in on itself. 

Worst of all, he cried. Chanyeol made him  _ cry  _ from everything but pleasure _. _

It had never been his intention to cause Jongin any sort of pain, physically or mentally, but he seemed to do the latter time and time again.

“You really… want me to stay?”

“More than anything.”

Jongin’s pretty fingers tangled on his lap. “I have nothing to offer you.”

“That’s wrong.” Choking down a grunt of pain as his bad shoulder lifted off the bed, Chanyeol interrupted Jongin’s finicky fingers with his own, cupping them whole. He was warm as ever like a personal little hot pack. “I don’t need anything from you.”

“What?”

“You’re more than enough for me, Jongin.”

Jongin pressed his lips together. “I want this. I-I want you, I swear I do, but I just… I just can’t make it feel right.”

“That’s okay. That feeling will come in time. All that matters is that you want it to.” Jongin nodded but he still wouldn’t look up, finding more interest in the dust on the ground. Chanyeol frowned. “Come lie down with me.”

“I don’t think—”

“Don’t think. Just come.”

Chanyeol rested back down, holding his arm out for Jongin to lie on. It was a small bed, made just for one because Chanyeol never in a million years saw himself needing to share it. Nevertheless, Jongin adjusted nicely, turned on his side and his face just centimeters away from Chanyeol’s bare chest. “Are you sure this doesn’t hurt?”

“I could think of worse things than having you in my arms.”

“I mean your shoulder, dummy.”

“Oh.” He frowned, seemingly in thought. “Whatever.” Chanyeol moved his hand down from Jongin’s ribs to his waist, playing with the hem of his shirt. Jongin flinched, tightly holding the cloth so it couldn’t be pulled any further up.

“That’s probably not the best idea.”

“What if I said the only thing that could make me feel better right now is seeing you ride me?”

Jongin’s breath caught, face growing hot as his grip loosened on his shirt. Chanyeol pushed it up to his collar and brushed lightly on his nipple. “I… I mean… is that true?”

“We won’t know until we try.”

Jongin gnawed on his bottom lip, thinking. The choices were pretty obvious. Riding Chanyeol sounded really fucking good. They could both get what they wanted with minimal effort from Chanyeol, but on the other hand, “Kyungsoo will literally kill me if he finds out about this.”

Chanyeol smiled, brushing Jongin’s hair behind his ear. “You’re just gonna have to be quiet then, aren’t you?”

~

“And this one? What does it mean?”

Chanyeol followed Jongin’s pointed finger, finding it to land on the tattoo placed at the top of his forearm. “Oh, that’s one of my oldest, actually. I got it while I was still with Julian.” His smile was small and his eyes were distant like he was picturing the very moment the needle pricked his skin. “It’s my mom’s birthday. I just… I wanted to keep her with me wherever I go.”

Jongin touched the inked numbers. “I like it.” He picked up Chanyeol’s hand, brushing the inside of his middle finger. “This one’s pretty self explanatory, isn’t it?” It seemed like forever ago when Jongin referred to the Earthen as Loey, the name tattooed there. It was strange to think that was only just weeks in the past. “I think it’s my favorite.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.” Jongin snuggled closer to Chanyeol, resting his cheek back on his bare chest. “Should we get dressed before Kyungsoo comes to check on you?”

“‘S not necessary.”

“For you, probably,” said Jongin though he made no actual effort to move. He was comfortable where he was. Warm. Content. “We should at least wash up.”

“I’ll go when you do.”

Jongin hummed. “That’s fair.”

“Well… as long as we’re learning more about each other, I have a question for you.”

“M’kay,” Jongin mused. “What?”

“I’ve just been thinking of how to ask this correctly, so I’m sorry if this comes out wrong, but… why do you—why do you let Lay call you…  _ that? _ ”

Jongin stiffened. Of all questions that he’d been expecting, that was not one. “Oh, um…” he trailed his fingers along the indents of Chanyeol’s ribs. “Remember how I told you not to drink the tea on Saturn?”

“Yeah.”

“I learned the hard way with that one. It’s some sort of sedative, or something. I don’t know, one moment we were discussing the Mars mission and the next he knew my entire childhood story. I must’ve let it slip that my mom called me ‘moonflower’ as a term of endearment ‘cause suddenly he wouldn’t stop.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah… it’s no biggie, though. He doesn’t let people tell him what to do, but means it the exact same way she used to, so I try not to see much of a problem with it.”

“He’s a strange man,” Chanyeol said.

Jongin chuckled. “That’s for sure.” He lightly kissed Chanyeol’s protruding collarbone, just because it was so pretty. “But kind and well meaning overall.” 

“Hmm.”

“Of all his quirks, though, the oddest has got to be his crush on Baekhyun.”

Chanyeol scoffed. “You’re joking.”

“Hecate, I wish.” Jongin’s eyes scrunched with a sudden thought. “Is that a thing? Do people have relationships with androids?”

“I never really thought about that.” Chanyeol frowned. “I mean… more often than not I find myself thinking of Kyungsoo like another being. He has working emotions, computer generated or not, so I guess there’s no reason they shouldn’t?”

“I like how sure you sound,” Jongin laughed. “Maybe I shouldn’t think about it too hard. Lay has tried to steal Baekhyun’s eyes far too many times for there to be a chance of romance.”

Chanyeol nuzzled his nose on top of Jongin’s head, chuckling. “You put a gun against my throat and look where we are.”

“And I think that says a lot more about your character than anything else.”

Chanyeol forced a gasp.  _ “Mean.” _

“You can’t tell me I’m wrong.”

“Gods, you can be such a little brat sometimes, y’know that?” Chanyeol rolled on top of him, straddling his waist with his elbows on either side of Jongin’s face. “It’s like you’re asking me to punish you.”

“Oh?” Jongin challenged his words with a smirk, hooking his legs around Chanyeol’s waist. “I’ll let you try, but let’s see if you can handle it.”

~

As soon as they reached Venus, Jongin exchanged numbers with the twins. He was actually looking forward to keeping in touch with them, casually throwing out the reminder to message him on updates of their situation so he knew they were safe. Though this was their home, nothing good was ever guaranteed. Jongin worried a little about leaving them behind, but Chanyeol was doing his best to soothe that as the planet got smaller and smaller in the sun shield.

“They’re older than they were back then. Smarter. Everything’s going to be okay,” Chanyeol said softly into his ear, hands gently kneading Jongin’s shoulders. “And even if it’s not, gods forbid, it wouldn’t have been your fault.”

Jongin sighed. “I suppose.” It was sweet of Chanyeol to try as hard as he was, but he couldn’t find it in himself to indulge him. Ying Yue was home, and now so were Swan and Sparrow. He wasn’t in control of their safety. Julian might be dead, but how long until some bastard takes his place? Things were supposed to be sure and concrete after a mission, but Jongin still felt as if he was standing on shaky ground. “We’re on our way to Pluto, right? To pick up my ship?”

“Mhm.”

Nodding, Jongin hopped off Chanyeol’s lap. “I’m gonna lay down for a bit.” The Earthen frowned and Jongin’s heart twisted so he over his hair off his forehead and kissed it. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Rest well.”

Jongin went back to the room he was initially given the first day on Chanyeol’s ship. Baekhyun was sitting on the bed, eyes colored green.

“What are you doing?”

“Reading.”

Jongin rolled his eyes. “I wish you’d use physical copies. You always look so creepy just sitting there, unmoving.”

“Awe, cute, you think I care.”

Laughing, Jongin crawled onto the bed and dropped his head into Baekhyun’s lap. The android’s hands were in his hair almost immediately. “Feeling some regret?”

“I think so? I don’t know… I just feel weird and I can’t explain it.”

Baekhyun pressed his lips into a thin line. “I think I might have an idea.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“Ying Yue and the twins have returned home with fresh starts on their life, but most importantly, to you, anyway… they’ve returned to their families.” Jongin’s breath caught. “And you’re jealous.”

It hit too deeply and troubled his stomach too much to be untrue. “I can’t go back,” Jongin whispered.

“Why not?”

“I’d be… Hecate, I’d be going back to them a whore turned thieving bounty hunter.”

“You’re more than that, Jongin. You know that.”

“I’m not. Thank you, but I’m not.” He shook his head. “After doing the things I’ve done, how am I supposed to look my mother in the eye?”

Baekhyun was silent for some time. Jongin nearly got up to make sure his batteries hadn’t become dislodged or something when a hand was back in his hair to keep him down. “Where are we coming from right now?”

“I don’t—”

“Answer the question.”

Jongin scowled. “Okay, um, Venus.”

“And what were we doing there?”

“Sending… sending Swan and Sparrow home.”

“Exactly. Jongin, you could’ve left them on Venus to fend for themselves. You could’ve turned down Lay’s initial offer to even help Ying Yue in the first place. It definitely would’ve saved you some time and effort.” He paused. “But you didn’t. You did what a lot of the nasty men you group yourself with for some reason would never do. You  _ chose  _ to help. You  _ chose  _ to be good.” Baekhyun turned Jongin’s face to look up at him. “I don’t know your mother, but I think that would be admirable enough for her.”

It was sweet. It really was. Just like Chanyeol’s efforts in the cockpit, but Jongin just couldn’t internalize it as much as he wanted to. “Thanks, Baek.”

“No problem,” he said with a heavy exhale. “You came here for a nap, right, baby? Go ahead. Nap.”

Jongin listened without a problem, closing his eyes with his neck still propped up by Baekhyun’s soft thighs. Maybe he could sleep the bad feelings away. 

Hecate, he really hoped he could.

~

Jongin awoke to a rough jolt of the ship that could only be explained by a landing. Baekhyun was gone from beneath his head. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. “What’s going on?” He’d slept for some pretty record lengths before, but if he truly did nap the whole way to Pluto from Venus, he was about to be very proud of himself.

“Landing,” Baekhyun answered simply from a chair to the side. 

“Yeah, I get that, but where? Are we stopping for fuel?”

“Go ‘nd see for yourself.”

There were no windows in the bedroom. Grumbling, Jongin rose to his feet, straightening his—Chanyeol’s—sweater and matting down his mussed hair to the best of his ability. He went straight to the cockpit where he assumed either Chanyeol or Kyungsoo would be. He was pleasantly surprised to find both.

“What happened?” he asked, sliding the door shut behind him. “Why’d we land?”

Chanyeol looked up from his cup of tea. “Baekhyun came and talked to me while you were sleeping. Convinced me to make a pit stop.”

Jongin was getting impatient. “At?”

“I’m sure you can guess.”

Jongin’s eyes flitted to the sun shield. Outside, miles and miles of small and quaint homes situated on sparkling grey sand. There were some lawns of green, some wanderers with pointed ears and ivory hair, and a thick sense of nostalgia in the air. Jongin gasped, hands flying to his mouth. “Chanyeol, no…”

“Home sweet home, right?”

“What the hell are we supposed to do here?” Jongin hissed. “We need to leave right now.”

Chanyeol’s gaze remained blank. “I don’t think so.”

“If you think for even a  _ second  _ that you’re gonna get me out there, you’re wrong.”

Chanyeol stood. “We’ll see about that.” He stalked towards Jongin, backing him up against the door. “You were asleep for quite some time. Baekhyun was able to locate some very important phone numbers and an address.”

“I’m not getting out.”

“That’s your choice.” Chanyeol tipped his chin. Jongin gulped. He often forgot how tall he truly was. “But Baekhyun did make me promise we wouldn’t take off again until you do.”

Jongin glanced to Kyungsoo, and the android shrugged. He was alone. No one was on his side. “You don’t understand,” he said, basically pleading. “They’re going to hate me.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

Jongin wanted to whine. He wanted to stomp his feet on the ground and bang his fists and scream until Chanyeol had no choice but to return to their original route. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t something he was ready to confront. 

Chanyeol wrapped his good arm around Jongin’s back, startling and drawing him close. “Try and think of it this way… on the slight chance that things turn out badly, I’m gonna be right there with you. But if they don’t, wouldn’t it have been worth it?”

Jongin dropped his face into Chanyeol’s chest. Fighting back was pointless. “Promise you won’t leave my side?”

Chanyeol cupped the back of his head and pressed a light kiss to the top of it. “I promise.” Then he pushed Jongin away. “Now go comb your hair.”

~

“I’ll go first. I contacted your mother a few hours ago and said that I might have some information on her son’s whereabouts, just to preserve the mystery, y’know?”

Jongin’s heart was beating so loud and so fast in his ears that he could barely hear what Chanyeol was saying. He could only do as much as let himself be dragged through the streets. Some passerbys stared, intrigued by Chanyeol’s black hair and rounded ears. They were neighbors Jongin knew his entire childhood… he wondered if they already accepted the idea that he was dead.

Chanyeol stopped in front of a small white door belonging to a cute little, three room home. Jongin felt like throwing up. The Earthen knocked three times, and in the seconds it took for them to be answered. Jongin contemplated running away. He’d escaped Luna once, he was positive he could do it again. 

“Oh, hello! You must be Loey!”

The familiarity of the sweet and soft voice sent shocks down Jongin’s spine. He hung his head even lower, hiding behind Chanyeol’s frame.

“Sure am. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Kim.”

“Come in, come in, and please, call me Sora.”

Jongin spared a small look over Chanyeol’s shoulder, swallowing thickly. She looked just like she used to, only a few grey hairs and wrinkles richer. Her smile was wide and pretty. Jongin touched his cheek. Everyone used to say that his was an exact mirror image of hers.

“My husband’s on his way home from work right now. He left as soon as I told him about your call.” She spoke quickly and frantically, like the words just couldn’t come out fast enough. Excited, he assumed she was. Hopeful that she was going to hear some good news. “Take a seat,” Sora said, gesturing to the small table in the kitchen. “I’ll get you something to drink.”

If she noticed another figure behind Chanyeol, she didn’t show it. Jongin pulled his hood tighter. If he thought he deserved to, he’d be hugging her as tight as he possibly could.

“Everyone’s been telling us for years to give up on him, but I just… I always knew he was out there. My boy was always a fighter. Never went down easily.” She approached the table, two glasses of water in her hands. “I’m sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? I-I’m a bit anxious, I suppose. Who’s your friend?”

Chanyeol’s palm on his shoulder was like an electric shock. Jongin flinched, back and neck straightening. He only realized the gravity of what he’d done when the crash of glass breaking against wooden floors followed. 

_ “J-Jongin?” _

She knew. He didn’t know how or why, but the way she was looking at him… it was like every bad thing he’d ever done was flashing before her eyes. Jongin had to run. He felt as if he had no other choice. 

Sora hopped over the glass shards, practically falling over herself as she ran to him, grabbing his face and yanking it close. His hood fell off from the sheer force causing her breath to catch. “You… I-I have to be dreaming.”

Why wasn’t she screaming at him to get out? To leave and never come back? That’s what all the years of pain and stress and suffering would warrant, right? Jongin stared at the tears gathering in her kind and tired eyes. He frowned. This didn’t feel right. Where was the burning hatred? The slap against his cheek?

“Tell me it’s you. P-Please… let me hear your voice.”

Jongin wished she didn’t have to drag this out, but if that truly was what she wanted…

“Hi, mom,” he whispered, daring to hold her bird-like wrists.

She inhaled sharply, tears now flowing freely down sunken cheeks. Jongin even felt a few of his own begin to gather. Could it… could it be possible that she wasn’t angry? Chanyeol did say that it wasn’t easy for parents to hate their kids. But there could still be the chance that when she looked at him, she saw a little boy that no longer existed. Jongin bit his lip.

“Mom…”

“What is it, baby? Oh, what is it?” she asked, eager to keep hearing his voice. It was deeper than she remembered it, but that was obvious. How many years had it been? Sora lost count. Life just passed by in a blur ever since she lost him. Her son. Her precious, beautiful boy. She never liked any of Jongin’s friends, and the ‘partners’ were a whole different story. The years, the long and painful years with him gone, she couldn’t help but assume the worst. 

“I… I’m sorry.”

Sora’s forehead creased. “What the hell for?”

He glanced back at the boy behind him who was watching with a nice smile, face resting on his fist. His energy was serene and kind. Sora didn’t know much about him apart from his name, but if this was the kind of company Jongin chose to associate himself with, maybe things had been okay. Maybe she had worried for nothing at all. “Hecate, mom, I’m just—I’m not who I was—”

“You’re my boy,” she hissed before he could get any further. “I don’t care if you left, Jongin. I don’t care what you did.” Sora rubbed her thumb beneath his eye, wiping away the escaped tears. He’d grown to be more beautiful than she could’ve ever predicted. “I know the person I raised.” She pulled him down, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing his face against her chest, just like she used to do when he was fifteen. Just like she did over and over again in her dreams.

Jongin’s hands trembled as they made their way to lock themselves behind her back. When he began to sob into her shirt, wetting the thin fabric, she squeezed him tighter.

“My moonflower, my precious moonflower.” Sora pressed her nose on top of his soft hair. “I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Jongin liked very few things. He liked sleep, money, breakfast, and his leather jacket in that specific order. He never thought he would be able to love anyone ever again. But now… now, he loved his mom. He loved Baekhyun. He loved Chanyeol.

And they loved him back.


End file.
